The Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade, in collaboration with the Namibia Trade Forum and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), recently held an engagement with the business community in the Zambezi Region.

The engagement involved sensitizing business owners on the opportunities and benefits presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and sharing information on them.

Speaking on behalf of the United Nations Development Program, Sophia Nambahu said that the inclusion of business owners who may already be trading across Namibia's borders was vital to understanding the challenges they may face and finding solutions to best address them.

This would be beneficial during the full implementation of the agreement, which she noted has the potential to massively transform Namibia's income.

"Once AfCFTA is correctly implemented in Namibia, the country can realise a growth of at least 4.1% and 4.2% respectively, and as well increase our country's exports by about 2.8%, so it is also evident that enhancing the capacity of MSMEs and the business community will drive structural economic transformation through trade and investment, and will create resilient, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth and development in Africa as a whole."

Daveline Muundjua, a policy analyst from the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade, said Namibia, as a member of the World Trade Organisation, is headed in the right direction towards achieving full implementation of the Free Trade Agreement on the African continent.

"Now at the AfCFTA, we are saying for Namibia to start at the starting point where you open up. You will start with what we have opened to the other 165 states, and then you go up. So for Namibia, our starting point was in the two subsectors, which are the business services as well as the tourism and travel-related sectors, which were already open at the WTO."

Attendees indicated a lack of funding, unreliable local and cross-border suppliers, and border closures, particularly during COVID-19 lockdowns, which also affected prices and logistics, as challenges faced in their businesses.

Delivering the keynote address, acting Governor for the Zambezi Region and Kabbe North Constituency Councillor, Bernard Sisamu, said the AfCFTA will help business communities benefit from access to various large markets, improve competitiveness, improve their living standards, increase their production capacity, and address unemployment.

"It is imperative for Namibian business communities to prepare and take full advantage of the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. This entails identifying the importance of goods and services, increasing production capacity, diversification, and adding value to our raw materials."

He added that this agreement will ensure that Namibian products are exported and stored in various countries on the African continent.

The Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade, in collaboration with the Namibia Trade Forum and the United Nations Development Program, (UNDP) recently held an engagement with the business community in the Zambezi Region.