… rising demand for cloud computing, software and AI tools drives spending
Namibians are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to complete coursework, automate tasks and access specialised knowledge, as the country’s spending on imported computer and digital services has tripled to N$4.5 billion.
IJG Securities Head of Research Tannan Groenewald said Namibia’s AI usage patterns suggest that the technology is helping individuals and businesses overcome shortages of skills and expertise that would otherwise be difficult or costly to access.
In a report titled AI and the Namibian Labour Market: Boom, Doom, or Business as Usual?, Groenewald said spending on imported computer and digital services increased from N$1.5 billion in 2022 to N$4.5 billion in 2025, driven by growing demand for cloud computing, software subscriptions and AI tools.
The report draws on anonymised, aggregated data from Anthropic’s Economic Index to examine how Namibians use the company’s Claude AI platform.
According to the findings, coursework accounts for the largest share of Claude usage in Namibia, representing more than twice the global proportion.
Namibian users are also more likely than the global average to give AI direct instructions and use the technology to automate tasks rather than work collaboratively with it.
“The typical Namibian conversation is estimated to save more human time than the typical global one while taking less combined human-plus-AI time to complete,” the report states.
Groenewald said the findings suggest that Namibians are using AI to perform tasks that may otherwise require specialised expertise or additional human resources.
However, he cautioned that the findings reflect Claude users and cannot be considered representative of the entire Namibian population.
“Namibia’s constraint is more so its supply of capability and not necessarily pure demand for cognitive labour,” Groenewald wrote.
He said the country’s shortage of specialised skills means AI could help businesses and public institutions improve productivity rather than primarily displace existing workers.
The report also identifies opportunities for small businesses to reduce operating costs, develop products, reach customers and automate administrative functions.
For young people entering the labour market, Groenewald said AI proficiency, creativity and critical thinking would become increasingly important as employers adopt new technologies.
Despite growing concerns about AI replacing workers, the report argues that Namibia faces a lower risk of widespread job displacement than developed economies.
Citing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) study published in July 2026, Groenewald said approximately 80% of jobs in sub-Saharan Africa have limited exposure to AI under existing technology.
About 13% fall into a category where AI could potentially replace human tasks, while roughly 10% could benefit from AI complementing existing work.
Applying the 13% estimate to Namibia’s formal employment would place the number of potentially exposed workers in the low tens of thousands, mainly in clerical, administrative and routine back-office positions.
These jobs are concentrated in sectors such as banking, insurance, government and business services.
However, a significant proportion of Namibia’s workforce remains employed in physical and labour-intensive occupations, including construction, fishing, security, cleaning and domestic work, where AI has limited ability to replace human labour.
“AI only arrives in these lives as a consumer tool and as an improvement in the services they receive but not as a change in what they do at work,” the report states.
The report further identifies the public sector as a major opportunity for AI-driven productivity improvements.
The government employs approximately 107,000 civil servants, with personnel expenditure of about N$37 billion provided for in the 2026/27 national budget.
Groenewald said AI could help contain payroll growth by automating routine processes such as document verification, database checks and application processing.
He argued that the government could improve service delivery and manage staffing levels through natural attrition rather than retrenchments.
Namibia also ranks among the five sub-Saharan African countries with the highest estimated potential productivity and economic growth gains from AI, according to the IMF analysis cited in the report.
Groenewald maintained that the country’s priority should be to translate growing AI adoption into measurable improvements in productivity, business activity and employment opportunities while supporting workers whose jobs are vulnerable to automation.
