Martin Endjala
Conflicting schedules with partnering institutions have forced the postponement of a business mission to Ghana.
The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board’s (NIPDB) senior marketing, branding, and communication manager, Catherine Shipushu, confirmed this on Thursday.
According to Shipushu, the new date on which the business mission will take place is yet to be announced.
She told the Windhoek Observer that the Namibia-Ghana Business Forum is an initiative of the Namibian High Commissioner in Ghana.
“Due to conflicting schedules with partnering institutions and in order to attract maximum participation from key stakeholders, the mission resolved to postpone the business forum to a future date that will be confirmed in due course,” she explained.
Shipushu said the NIPDB invited business people to participate in upcoming investment attraction missions to Ghana, Russia, Cuba, Angola, Brazil and China last month.
According to the invitation, the purpose is to foster economic collaboration and explore new investment opportunities.
The trips will be undertaken between 17 September and 10 November.
Shipushu said that as part of the investment promotion and attraction process, the NIPDB undertakes different activities to create awareness about Namibia, elevating the country’s global presence and amplifying its value proposition as an investment destination.
“These activities include, amongst others, attending strategic events such as expos and Indabas, where we leverage the convening power of such events for brand awareness and lead generation,” she stated.
She added that supporting the NIPDB supports the government’s economic diplomacy efforts by collaborating with foreign missions to facilitate business forums in-country or abroad.
Shipushu said that where opportunity exists, they may extend an open invitation to the business community to join the Namibian delegation to explore business opportunities in those markets.
According to her, the individuals who accept the invitation to participate do so with the understanding that their participation is entirely at their own expense.
Despite this, she explained that the NIPDB provides support by facilitating meetings between Namibian businesses and potential partners in the targeted markets.
According to Shipushu, the business community showed a significant interest in the Ghana missions. So far, NIPDB’s records indicate that at least 20 people have registered for this mission.
Veikko Haimbodi, the former chairperson of the Namibia Chambers of Commerce Industry (NCCI) in the northern regions, said that mitigating circumstances frequently result in the abrupt postponement of such trips.
According to him, individuals on the list frequently travel under the guidance of NCCI or other business-related organisations, which also receive notifications about any changes to inform their members.
“I believe the grounds on which the postponement is based are sufficient enough, and business people should try to look at it positively instead of assuming that NIPDB is trying to impede them from connecting with the outside world. They must wait until the new date is announced, hopefully soon,” he said.
Haimbodi added that Namibian businesspeople will benefit from connecting and collaborating with Ghanaian businesspeople and other countries.
He said that these opportunities will propel the private sector to collaborate with other countries, thereby bringing much-needed relief to the government’s pressure to provide jobs for Namibians.
Haimbodi called for calm and urged businesses to get ready so they could take advantage of all the opportunities these trips would present.
