President Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will chair the inaugural Namibia Public-Private Forum (NamPPF), scheduled for 23–24 October 2025, which will bring together senior government officials and private sector leaders for high-level dialogue aimed at strengthening Namibia’s competitiveness and investment climate.
According to a statement issued by the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), the forum will serve as a “solution-oriented platform designed to foster practical, joint responses to Namibia’s economic challenges.”
The NIPDB said the NamPPF aims to “unlock greater economic dynamism, foster trust between sectors, and accelerate the implementation of reforms that support job creation, business growth, global competitiveness, and broad-based prosperity.”
The NIPDB said the NamPPF was approved by Cabinet on 17 September 2024 and is guided by a Coordinating Committee comprising six public institutions and six private or social sector associations.
The committee is chaired by Dr Nangula Nelulu Uaandja, CEO of the NIPDB, with Titus Nampala, CEO of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI), serving as vice chairperson.
The inaugural forum will take place under the theme “Public-Private Dialogue to Drive Decent and Sustainable Job Creation: Enhancing Namibia’s Competitiveness.”
The NIPDB said the theme is aligned with the 8th Administration’s transformative agenda under the 6th National Development Plan (NDP6) and aims to “advance Namibia’s development, address unemployment, and improve the quality of life and livelihoods for all Namibians.”
The Board said the event underscores the “urgent need for collaborative, evidence-based policy responses” to address Namibia’s high unemployment rate of 36.9% and youth unemployment rate of 44.1%.
The two-day forum will feature high-level panel engagements and sector-specific discussions designed to produce actionable outcomes.
Ahead of the session, ten working groups made up of representatives from the public and private sectors, civil society, trade unions, and academia have been formed to identify key challenges in priority sectors and propose solutions.
“These findings and proposals will be presented to the President during the forum, alongside topical panel discussions,” the NIPDB said.
The Board added that the forum is expected to produce several outcomes, including “improved collaboration and trust between public and private sectors, enhanced mechanisms for identifying and addressing business constraints, and the creation of a monitoring and evaluation framework to track implementation.”
It said the NamPPF will also deliver evidence-based strategy papers with actionable recommendations aligned to Namibia’s national development priorities, which will be monitored by the National Planning Commission.
According to the NIPDB, participation from private and civic social sectors will take place at the association level.
This structure, it said, “is intended to promote inclusivity by allowing associations to effectively communicate outcomes to their members and ensure that no stakeholder is left behind.”
