By Ndapwilapo Selma Shimutwikeni
Namibia’s recent offshore discoveries have transformed the scale of the country’s energy opportunity. But discovery alone will not deliver national prosperity.
The true measure of this moment will not be what Namibia finds beneath the seabed, but what it builds above it: skills, competitive businesses, infrastructure, institutions and industries capable of creating value for generations.
Namibia is not starting from zero. Since independence, the country has invested in geological knowledge, legislation, institutions, licensing and investment promotion.
The Orange Basin discoveries therefore mark not the beginning of Namibia’s petroleum journey, but a more demanding phase in which promise must be converted into lasting value.
Maintain Exploration and Investor Confidence
The conversation is moving from exploration towards appraisal, investment decisions, financing, infrastructure, skills and local participation.
Yet exploration remains important to deepen understanding of Namibia’s geology and create additional opportunities over the long term.
Namibia has attracted experienced international companies and significant investment.
Sustaining that momentum will depend on clear and consistent policy, strong institutions, good governance and efficient decision-making.
Large energy projects take time. Commercial viability, financing, infrastructure and supply chains must be established before production begins. The period before major development is therefore Namibia’s preparation window.
For Namibian businesses, this is also a commercial opportunity. Companies that understand procurement requirements, invest in people and systems, build credible partnerships and position themselves across the wider supply chain will be better placed to participate as projects advance.
Build People and Competitive Local Capability
Above all, this is the time to invest in our people.
The sector will need technical expertise, but the opportunity extends across engineering, finance, law, logistics, technology, environmental management, construction and vocational skills. Developing these capabilities will require cooperation among industry, government, universities and vocational institutions, with training increasingly aligned to emerging demand.
The same principle applies to local content. Local content can deliver its greatest value when it goes beyond compliance and contributes to the development of competitive Namibian businesses, knowledge and technology transfer, and stronger participation across the value chain.
Not every capability can or should be developed locally overnight. The objective should be capable, competitive and sustainable participation.
International companies bring capital, technology, expertise and access to global supply chains. Namibia brings resources, institutions, local knowledge, businesses and people. These are complementary interests.
The objective should not be to choose between international investment and national participation, but to create a model in which investment succeeds because local capability grows alongside it.
Namibia can also learn from countries that have travelled this road before. Angola offers useful lessons in professional development, service-company capability, regulation and cross-border logistics. The aim is not to copy another model, but to shorten learning curves and draw on established experience.
Use Energy Investment to Develop Infrastructure and Industry
Oil and gas can anchor this opportunity, but they are not the entire story. Namibia’s wider energy economy includes power generation, renewable energy, infrastructure, logistics, finance, technology, engineering and services.
Reliable and competitively priced electricity is essential for industrialisation. Investment in ports, roads, water, transmission systems, logistics corridors and digital infrastructure can support activity far beyond individual energy projects, including mining, trade and regional logistics.
Namibia’s energy opportunity should also be viewed within a regional context.
Greater investment in oil, gas, power, renewables and enabling infrastructure can strengthen both national and regional energy security by diversifying supply, improving resilience and supporting deeper energy trade across Southern Africa.
Namibia’s ports, transmission networks and transport corridors can support not only domestic projects, but wider regional trade, logistics and industrial activity.
At the same time, neighbouring markets offer experience, capabilities and commercial partnerships that Namibia can draw on.
Namibia can therefore be deliberate in identifying the parts of the value chain where it can build sustainable competitive advantage.
The Dangote Refinery in Nigeria illustrates both the strategic appeal and the scale of investment required for downstream value addition.
The opportunity is not to pursue every link in the value chain, but to focus on areas where Namibia’s resources, infrastructure and skills can support competitive industries and export-capable service companies.
Convert Petroleum Revenues into Lasting National Wealth
An equally important question will be how Namibia manages the revenues that production generates.
Oil and gas can catalyse economic transformation, but long-term prosperity should not depend on a single commodity. Petroleum income can strengthen Namibia’s economic foundations when it is governed transparently and invested prudently in people, infrastructure and productive sectors that continue creating value long after individual fields stop producing.
I believe Government will continue to provide clarity, strengthen capable institutions and enable efficient decision-making.
Industry has an equally important role to play through responsible investment, partnerships and credible pathways for Namibian participation.
Educational institutions can strengthen this effort by aligning training with future demand, while businesses, too, have an opportunity to prepare early and position themselves for emerging demand.
If preparation begins now, Namibia can use energy to build a more skilled, competitive, industrialised and inclusive economy.
The discovery has been made. What Namibia builds from it will be the real legacy.
This is perhaps the most important meaning of Realising Our Shared Energy Opportunity. Shared does not simply mean sharing the value once it has been created. It means sharing the responsibility for creating it.
NIEC brings together government, industry, investors, Namibian businesses, financial institutions, education and training institutions, experts and emerging leaders to engage on the choices and partnerships shaping Namibia’s energy future.
The 9th Namibia International Energy Conference will take place in Windhoek from 13–15 April 2027 under the theme Realising Our Shared Energy Opportunity. Building Momentum. Creating Value. captures the next phase: continuing exploration and investment, preparing businesses and people, strengthening institutions and infrastructure, and ensuring that the opportunity creates value across the wider economy.
* Ndapwilapo Selma Shimutwikeni – CEO of RichAfrica Consultancy and Founder of the Namibia International Energy Conference (NIEC)
