Namibia

Due to the limited number of domestic power plants, Namibia imports up to 70% of its electricity from neighboring countries. This electricity is predominantly generated using coal, but the country has the capacity to capitalize on renewable sources of energies. This fact, combined with the intense exploitation of Namibian soils through agriculture, highlight the need to consolidate the sustainable use of natural resources.

To address these challenges, AFD launched SUNREF in 2017, a program designed to help local businesses to green the Namibian economy. Three local banks received a 15-million euro line of credit each to finance projects in the fields of Renewable Energy, Sustainable Agriculture and Tourism. Banks and project sponsors also benefit from one million euros' worth of technical assistance, financed by the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia to develop profitable green projects.

Access to finance is not only an issue for green businesses. It is also a challenge for vulnerable populations who remain excluded from the traditional banking system. The 150,000 Namibian pensioners are particularly vulnerable as they receive their pension in cash, and are not considered as bankable by most of the financial institutions. Therefore, AFD supports the growth of PostFin, a subsidiary of the national postal operator dedicated to microfinance and savings products to low-income populations. This support constitutes a 14.3 million-euro non-sovereign loan in local currency, of which 50% is provided to pensioners.

After successive years of growth, the economy of Namibia has been in recession since 2017 and is increasingly vulnerable to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. In response, the authorities have implemented various fiscal and structural reforms to spur economic activity and growth. One of these measures is the promotion of Public Private Partnerships (PPP). To support the government, AFD is bringing international expertise through a 400,000-euro grant to the Ministry of Finance in the identification of achievable projects and the delivery of training sessions.

Namibia also seeks to reduce Public Enterprise debt, which amounted to 25% of GDP in 2018. Following the adoption of the Public Enterprises Governance Act, the authorities encourage the financial autonomy of Commercial Public Enterprises, which are supposed to generate their own revenue, but are still receiving allocations from the national budget. To address this issue, AFD signed a 500 000-euro grant agreement to bring Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Public Enterprises.

Finally, AFD is financing a technical cooperation program between Namport and the French Port of Dunkirk, worth a total of €650,000. By encouraging peer-to-peer exchanges and financing consulting services, this project seeks to improve its financial and technical performances from a regional and international perspective while bringing expertise for the implementation of a “green port strategy”.

Namibia’s diverse biodiversity has the potential to provide significant economic benefits to the population, not least through tourism revenue. To support the efforts of the authorities, AFD co-finances the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) project, an initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, coordinated by FAO and funded by the EU. Through a 3.5 million-euro grant signed in 2020 with FAO, AFD supports the extension of this project from Zambia and Zimbabwe to Namibia and Botswana.

Despite the sound management of its natural resources, Namibia remains particularly exposed to climate change. It is considered the driest country in Southern Africa. To increase access to knowledge and strengthen the capacity of the Namibian Government in water management and drought control, AFD approved a 450,000-euro grant to finance technical cooperation between the French geological survey (BRGM), the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR) and the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT).

The Covid-19 pandemic has directly hit organizations devoted to conservation in Namibia through a sudden halt to tourism and hunting activities, which represent more than 90% of their revenues. This situation highlights the need for conservationists to pursue a more diversified portfolio of income generating activities. In this context, AFD has signed a 200,000-euro grant with the Environmental Investment Fund in order to design an innovative national Payment for Ecosystem Services mechanism.