Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will chair the inaugural Namibia Public-Private Forum (NamPPF) on Thursday, 23 October, and Friday, 24 October 2025.
This was announced by Catherine Shipushu, the Senior Manager of Marketing, Branding and Communications of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB). She noted that the Forum aims to boost economic momentum, build trust between the public and private sectors, and fast-track reforms that support job creation, business expansion, global competitiveness, and inclusive prosperity.
“The Forum will bring together key government institutions and leading private sector associations for a high-level, solution-oriented dialogue. This annual platform aims to foster practical, joint responses to Namibia’s economic challenges, with a particular focus on enhancing the nation’s competitiveness and ease of doing business, towards ensuring a conducive business and investment climate for employment creation,” Shipushu explained.
She highlighted that the theme of the inaugural Forum is “Public-Private Dialogue to Drive Decent and Sustainable Job Creation: Enhancing Namibia’s Competitiveness.” According to Shipushu, this theme aligns with the 8th Administration’s transformative agenda and is guided by the 6th National Development Plan (NDP6). She emphasised that the Forum seeks to advance national development goals, tackle unemployment, and improve quality of life for all Namibians.
“Furthermore, this theme recognises the indispensable collaboration between the Government and the private sector to achieve these goals, reflecting the urgent need for collaborative, evidence-based policy responses to address Namibia’s high unemployment rate of 36.9% and youth unemployment rate of 44.1%,” Shipushu explained.
She revealed that the event programme includes high-level panel discussions and sector-specific dialogues aimed at generating actionable outcomes. According to her, the NamPPF is expected to deliver several key results, including improved collaboration and trust between the public and private sectors, an enhanced platform for the private sector to raise critical constraints, and the establishment of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to track the implementation of identified interventions.
“The forum will also deliver evidence-based strategy papers with actionable recommendations aligned with Namibia’s national economic development priorities, whose implementation will be tracked by the National Planning Commission. Private and civic social sector participation in the forum is set at association level. This is intended to promote inclusivity as associations are strategically positioned to effectively transmit information to their members due to their proximity, thereby ensuring that no stakeholders are left behind,” Shipushu added.
