Martin Endjala
The European Union (EU) has disbursed a N$42 million grant to four civil society organisations (CSOs) to advance the country’s development agenda.
The funding is part of a strategic partnership aimed at fostering inclusive green growth, strengthening civil society participation, and addressing the country’s economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
The grants, awarded to the Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation, Namibia Development Trust, Namibia Nature Foundation, and Deutsche Welle Academy, were the result of a competitive call for proposals launched by the EU delegation in 2024.
“These promising projects will be funded under our bilateral programme with Namibia, under a specific category aimed at strengthening civil society’s participation and engagement in Namibia’s development agenda,” said EU Ambassador to Namibia Ana Beatriz-Martins during the grant signing ceremony in Windhoek.
The three projects are intended to strengthen civil society’s capacity to contribute to the policy debate on how to develop Namibia’s fast-growing green energy, as well as the extractive industries, by ensuring Namibia’s economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
Beatriz-Martins highlighted Namibia’s green hydrogen (GH2) strategy as a central pillar of the partnership.
She noted that this strategy could mobilise over N$400 billion in European private investments, more than double Namibia’s GDP while supporting aspirations for green industrialisation.
“This partnership is underpinned by the Africa Global Gateway Investment initiative, endowed with a 150 billion euro budget for Africa for five years until 2027. The Global Gateway strategy,” she said.
This initiative aims to boost infrastructure, accelerate the green and digital transition, and promote education and health.
A pipeline of up to nine private investment projects, primarily led by European companies, is already underway, with several expected to reach final investment decisions by 2025.
Michael Humavindu, executive director of the National Planning Commission (NPC), stressed the long-standing bilateral relationship between Namibia and the EU, noting its contributions to sectors such as agriculture and renewable energy.
“To this end, development cooperation is seen and promoted by the Namibian government as a key strategic pillar and thrust towards economic development and our growth ambitions as visualised through our long-term strategic frameworks, such as Vision 2030,” he noted.
According to Humavindu, a national civil society policy, it is being finalised to further empower civil society organisations.
Ronny Dempers, representing the Namibia Development Trust, stressed the importance of civil society in bridging the gap between communities and green hydrogen projects.
“We are all aware of the misconceptions, misinformation and critics surrounding green hydrogen. Civil society organisations are in the best position to engage the community on the matter in helping community members in understanding the benefits of the project,” he said.
Dempers believes both stakeholders will be able to engage each other to find common ground for the benefit of all particularly Namibians.
