STANLIB Namibia's Manager Sade Gertze says local growth is expected to slow down during 2023 and 2024, largely due to weaker global demand.

Although this year's growth projection suggests that the global economy will avoid a recession, some economies are likely to experience a recessionary period at some point over the course of the year.

The mining sector leads the growth story largely due to higher production volumes from diamonds.

As interest rates hit historic lows in 2020, individuals took advantage of favorable financing last year as rate hikes started to materialize.

For 2023, a positive but slow growth trajectory is expected.

STANLIB Namibia's Manager Sade Gertze says Namibia's economic growth remains below pre-pandemic levels, but has recovered about 98,7% of lockdown-induced losses. 

Additionally, Gertze notes that inflation is showing signs of moderation and is expected to roll over in the second half of 2023 on base effects.

Giving an overview of Namibia's insurance market, Liberty Life Actuary Nyasha Masimbe says uptake of insurance is low currently, due to high pricing and limited understanding of products and solutions.

Masimbe further states that insurance providers can no longer be a commodity exchange, hence the need for partnerships.

With the high conviction to support local economic recovery, Gertze says the Central Bank is expected to maintain the Repo rate throughout this year and only start cutting rates in 2024, lagging the South African Reserve Bank with rate cuts.

The two spoke at the "In perspective roadshow" event organized by STANLIB and Liberty Life Namibia.

The event, among others, unpacked key investment themes and what these mean for economies around the globe.