President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has urged Rundu to leverage its strategic location to become a centre for trade, transport, logistics, agriculture, agro-processing, tourism, and manufacturing. According to the President, Rundu's location makes it a gateway to different countries across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and wider regional and global markets. This was stated by Vice President Lucia Witbooi on behalf of the President at the gala dinner of the 9th Rundu Annual Trade Fair on Saturday.
The President's remarks were made under the theme "Embracing Technology for Sustainable Business Growth", which she described as timely as Namibia seeks to modernise and diversify its economy. Nandi-Ndaitwah said technology was transforming how businesses operate, produce, market, trade, and communicate, while providing small and emerging enterprises with opportunities to access information, reach new customers, improve productivity, and reduce costs.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah challenged Namibian businesses to stop focusing only on their immediate markets and instead develop products and services capable of competing across the region and continent. She urged businesses to use technology to access wider markets, meet appropriate standards, and build enterprises capable of competing within the region and beyond. The President also called on investors to support Namibia's development ambitions by creating jobs, transferring skills and technology, partnering with Namibians, and contributing to value addition and industrialisation.
The President identified critical minerals, energy, infrastructure, logistics, oil and gas, tourism, and manufacturing among the sectors where Namibia wants investors to build meaningful partnerships with Namibians. She renewed the call for Namibia to stop relying heavily on exporting raw natural resources while importing finished products, instead moving towards processing its resources locally and developing industries that create employment and strengthen local enterprises.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah also urged businesses to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), saying the agreement provides an opportunity to expand markets for African products and strengthen intra-African trade. She warned that Namibia's economic ambitions face threats, including the ongoing Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak, and called on farmers, consumers, and other stakeholders to remain vigilant and cooperate with measures aimed at containing and eradicating the disease.
The 9th Rundu Annual Trade Fair is scheduled to take place from October 23 to 31, 2026. President Nandi-Ndaitwah called on stakeholders to support the Kavango East Local Authority's initiative linked to the trade fair, saying contributions of any size would support the cause. She emphasised that building the Namibia envisioned under the Sixth National Development Plan would require the participation of Government, the private sector, workers, communities, financial institutions, development partners, entrepreneurs, and small and medium enterprises.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah urged stakeholders to collectively build an economy that is "inclusive, innovative, competitive, and resilient". She commended the organisers of the Rundu Annual Trade Fair for their contribution to national development, and emphasised that the government alone cannot build the desired economy.
Key points
- President Nandi-Ndaitwah calls for Rundu to position itself as a regional economic hub.
- The President urges businesses to harness technology and expand into regional markets.
- The 9th Rundu Annual Trade Fair is scheduled to take place from October 23 to 31, 2026.
