Observer Money

Kaija Auala, Metropolitan Sales Manager As the festive season approaches, many Namibian families are busy planning holidays, setting aside money for travel or saving for Christmas celebrations. With so many immediate expenses to juggle, it is easy to postpone thinking about the future. Yet one of the most important financial decisions we can make is often delayed: saving for retirement. Without proper planning, many retirees find themselves relying solely on the state pension or family support, which is often insufficient to sustain their lifestyle. According to Namibia’s 2023 Census, roughly one in seven households relies mainly on the government old…

Sakaria Nghikembua Across Africa, insurance adoption remains low. According to research by FT Partners on the fintech industry (Q4 2024), penetration outside South Africa is constrained by “lack of awareness, cost, minimal product innovation, regulatory obstacles, and unsteady incomes.”  The report notes that insurtech innovation is helping to grow the continent’s insurance market by offering more affordable products designed for untapped demographics. Namibia stands out for having one of the higher penetration rates in Africa, about 7.41%, according to Finance in Africa (2025). This figure reflects the industry's size relative to GDP, but it does not necessarily mean that households…

Mignon du Preez Life in Namibia today is anything but uncomplicated. Families across the board are finding the strain of ever-increasing prices, a lack of jobs, and static incomes that cannot keep up with the cost of living. It's the price of bread, school charges, petrol, or rent; pressure is building across the country. These are not abstractions; these are flesh-and-blood issues that shape how people live, plan, and dream. Universal concerns like inflation, economic stagnation, and unemployment characterise our own backyard existence. But even during these circumstances, there is one unchanging fact: insurance and saving are not luxuries; they…

Chamwe Kaira  The number of active policies in the short-term insurance sector dropped by 11.2%, reaching 660 156 as at 31 December 2024. The decline was mainly due to lapses, although the industry recorded growth in new underwritten policies during the year. Despite the fall in active policies, profit before tax increased by 9.6% to N$762.3 million. Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) figures showed that the rise in profit was driven by the growth in new policies. The sector demonstrated resilience in 2024, supported by strong performance in financial markets. Excess assets rose by 15.2% to N$2.8 billion, while…