Namibia Must Stand United in Pursuit of Reparatory Justice, Says President Nandi-Ndaitwah- ISSUE #48☕

From coastlines to boardrooms, courtrooms to startups — today’s headlines paint a powerful picture of Namibia in motion.

Hotel Occupancy Steady in April: Coastal destinations lead the way as tourism maintains its momentum.
 Windhoek Rises in Global Startup Rankings: Innovation is booming as Namibia earns global recognition.
Wage Inequality in Focus: Despite full-time work, thousands still earn below the poverty line.
🇳🇦 President Nandi-Ndaitwah Calls for Unity: A strong voice on the international stage as Namibia renews its call for reparatory justice.

Stay tuned as we unpack the numbers, the progress, and the voices shaping Namibia’s path forward.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Namibia’s Hotel Occupancy Holds Steady in April, With Coastal Region Leading the Way

Namibia’s hospitality sector showed resilience in April 2025, with national hotel occupancy reaching 55%, according to the latest data from Simonis Storm junior economist Almandro Jansen. While this figure is slightly below the 58.19% recorded in April 2024, it edges out the pre-pandemic level of 54.73% seen in April 2019—signalling a steady recovery for the industry.

Leisure Travel Remains King

Leisure travel continues to be the backbone of Namibia’s hotel sector, accounting for a robust 95.16% of all room nights in April. Business travel made up 3.92%, while conference-related stays remained limited at just 0.92%, mirroring trends from the previous year.

Coastal Region Shines

The coastal region emerged as the standout performer, boasting a 60.79% occupancy rate—up sharply from 45.95% in March. This surge was largely fuelled by Easter holidaymakers, especially inland residents seeking a coastal escape.

“Business travellers showed a clear preference for coastal establishments, bolstered by international delegations linked to Namibia’s burgeoning energy sector,” Jansen noted. The coastal region’s business occupancy hit 10.98%, the highest across all regions.

Month-on-month, April’s occupancy rate jumped by 24.1% from March, marking the highest monthly rate recorded in 2025 so far.

Year-to-Date Still Trails Pre-Pandemic Levels

Despite the April boost, the year-to-date average occupancy stands at 41.79%—still trailing the 2019 year-to-date average of 44.92%.

Luxury Tourism Shields Sector From Volatility

Jansen highlighted that Namibia’s strategic focus on attracting high-end international tourists is helping insulate the sector from broader economic uncertainty. “Luxury travel tends to be more resilient during downturns, as affluent travellers are less likely to cut back on travel. This approach supports revenue consistency and ensures a steady stream of high-spending visitors who make a meaningful impact on the economy,” he explained.

Regional and International Trends

The northern region also saw strong performance, with occupancy reaching 55.5%, buoyed by events such as the Nedbank Namibia Newspaper Cup and the Private Schools’ Weekend in Outjo. Southern Namibia’s occupancy climbed to 53.65% from 48.01% in March, while the central region, though still the lowest, improved slightly to 44.41% from 41.55%.

German-speaking countries continued to dominate Namibia’s international arrivals, with visitors from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland accounting for 40.29% of all foreign guests in April.

Domestic travel contributed 19.3% of total occupancy, down from 26.52% in March. French tourists made up 6.9% of arrivals, while the Benelux market (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) grew from 4.43% to 5.31%, supported by direct flights from Frankfurt and the new Munich-Windhoek route. South African arrivals also saw a slight uptick to 7.23%.

The Bottom Line

Namibia’s hotel sector is holding firm, with strong regional performances and a strategic focus on luxury tourism helping to drive recovery. With international arrivals on the rise and domestic travel remaining steady, the outlook for the hospitality industry in 2025 remains positive.

Source: The Namibian

Namibia Climbs Global Startup Rankings as Windhoek Surges Ahead

Namibia has achieved a new milestone in global entrepreneurship, rising two spots to 85th place in the 2025 StartupBlink Global Startup Ecosystem Index—its highest position ever. This upward momentum highlights the country’s growing reputation as a promising destination for innovation and start-up activity.

Windhoek Leads the Charge

The capital city, Windhoek, was the star performer, recording the fastest growth among southern African cities. Windhoek leapt an impressive 104 places to reach 512th globally, making it Namibia’s sole representative in the world’s top 1,000 start-up cities. With this pace, Windhoek is on track to break into the global top 500 soon.

Regionally, Namibia maintained its standing as the second-best country for start-ups in southern Africa. Windhoek also climbed to become the fourth-highest ranked city in the region, boasting a remarkable growth rate of over 74%—the highest in southern Africa.

Challenges Remain, but Momentum Builds

Despite these achievements, the index flagged ongoing hurdles: weak infrastructure, limited market access, low funding levels, and bureaucratic red tape. Namibia’s small population continues to constrain the pool of entrepreneurial talent.

A turning point came in 2022 when Jabu, a Namibian logistics start-up, became the first in the country to secure Series A funding with backing from Y Combinator. This landmark deal showcased the ecosystem’s potential, even as broader challenges persist.

Ecosystem Builders Driving Progress

Key organisations are helping to shape Namibia’s start-up landscape. The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) and StartUp Namibia have played pivotal roles, with StartUp Namibia’s Basecamp hub and digital skills programmes providing vital support for early-stage founders across the country.

Public sector backing from the Namibia Investment Centre has also been instrumental, offering guidance to foreign investors. These efforts are complemented by private sector initiatives like Impact Tank, which focuses on social entrepreneurship and venture-building.

A New Era: ScaleUp Namibia Initiative Launches

In 2025, Namibia unveiled the ScaleUp Namibia initiative, a national programme developed in partnership with the National Commission on Research, Science and Technology. According to the StartupBlink index, “The programme aims to bridge the gap between start-up ideas and market-ready businesses by offering mentorship, investment support, co-working spaces, and digital transformation centres across the country.”

ScaleUp Namibia is also championing advocacy, working to streamline business registration and push for regulatory reforms.

The Bottom Line

Namibia’s climb in the global start-up rankings signals a vibrant, evolving ecosystem with Windhoek at its heart. While challenges remain, the country’s collaborative efforts between public and private sectors, and bold new initiatives like ScaleUp Namibia, are laying the groundwork for a new generation of entrepreneurs to thrive. The future of Namibian innovation looks brighter than ever.

Source: The Namibian

Namibia’s Wage Reality: Thousands Struggle Below the Poverty Line Despite Full-Time Work

Imagine working 28 days out of every month, only to take home N$1,000 or less. For thousands of Namibians in the wholesale and retail sector, this is not a hypothetical—it’s their daily reality. After paying for basic transport, the average worker in this industry is left with just N$272 to cover all other living expenses.

The Numbers Behind the Struggle

According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), 11,320 employees in the wholesale and retail sector earn N$1,000 or less per month. Out of a total workforce of 54,618 in the sector, another 9,560 bring home between N$1,001 and N$2,000. The majority of these workers are young: 19.2% are aged 25-29, and 19.7% are 30-34. Most are employed in service and sales roles, with only 567 earning more than N$50,001 per year.

Economist Omu Kakujaha-Matundu describes these pay levels as “starvation wages,” warning that such low income pushes workers toward desperate measures just to survive. “N$1,000 won’t even pay rent for a backyard shack,” he notes, calling for urgent intervention from trade unions and policymakers.

Mining Sector: Skilled, But Still Struggling

The mining and quarrying sector, often seen as a pillar of Namibia’s skilled workforce, is not immune to the problem. Of its 14,337 employees, 676 earn N$1,000 or less—a small but significant 2.6%. The sector is dominated by craft and trade workers (3,711), plant and machine operators (2,326), and professionals (2,079). Most mining workers earn more than their retail counterparts, but a substantial portion still falls into the lower income brackets.

Financial Sector: A Brighter Picture

Contrast this with the financial and insurance sector, which employs 16,691 people—mostly as technicians and associate professionals. Here, very few earn below N$1,000, and the sector boasts the highest number of high earners (N$50,001 and above). The largest age group is 30-34, making up 23.3% of the workforce.

The Cost-of-Living Challenge

Namibia’s annual inflation rate eased to 3.6% in April 2025, down from 4.8% a year earlier. Yet, the cost of living remains high. According to Numbeo’s cost-of-living index, a single person in Namibia needs about N$11,148 per month (excluding rent) to live comfortably. That’s more than ten times what many retail and mining workers earn.

Despite this, Windhoek ranks as one of the world’s most affordable cities for expatriates, coming in ninth globally, according to Mercer’s latest Cost of Living survey. However, for ordinary Namibians, affordability remains relative—especially when wages lag so far behind basic living costs.

The Bottom Line

Namibia’s employment landscape is a tale of contrasts. While some sectors offer pathways to prosperity, thousands of workers—especially in retail and mining—are trapped in a cycle of low wages and high living costs. As the country works to attract foreign investment and grow its economy, ensuring that growth translates into decent wages for all remains a pressing challenge.

Source: The Namibian

NAMIBIAN

Namibia Must Stand United in Pursuit of Reparatory Justice, Says President Nandi-Ndaitwah

As Namibia continues its critical negotiations with Germany over reparations for the genocide, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has called for national unity to strengthen the country’s position. Speaking at the 62nd Africa Day anniversary celebrations in the Oshana region, she emphasized that the government remains committed to securing a comprehensive resolution that fully addresses Namibia’s rightful claims and supports affected communities.

The theme for this year’s Africa Day — “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations” — underscores the continent’s ongoing quest for justice and restitution.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah highlighted the African Union’s (AU) active role in championing reparatory justice, including efforts to facilitate reparations payments and the return of cultural artifacts looted during colonisation and slavery.

She recalled the AU’s participation in the landmark 2001 United Nations World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, where the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action was adopted. This declaration formally acknowledged the atrocities of racial violence, slavery, and the transatlantic slave trade.

As Namibia presses forward in its dialogue with Germany, the President’s message is clear: unity and perseverance are essential to achieving justice and healing for the nation and its people.

Source: The Namibian

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill

Happy Monday! Let’s start the week with determination and resilience.