Namibia leads Africa in Greenfield FDI
Namibia has retained its position as the world's second-best performer in attracting greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) relative to its economic size, reinforcing its status as one of Africa's leading investment destinations.
The latest fDi Intelligence Greenfield FDI Performance Index 2026, which assessed 98 countries, ranked Namibia second globally behind the United Arab Emirates and first in Africa. Rwanda placed third, while Qatar ranked fourth.
The index measures how successful countries are at attracting new investment projects relative to their economies' size, rather than the total value of investment received. A greenfield investment occurs when a foreign company establishes a new business or subsidiary from the ground up instead of acquiring an existing operation.
How Namibia fared
Namibia recorded an index score of 7.74, well behind the United Arab Emirates' 19.21 but ahead of Rwanda's 6.99 and Qatar's 5.44. Zambia and Botswana also featured among the top-performing African countries.
According to fDi Intelligence, the Middle East and Africa were the strongest-performing regions globally in attracting foreign direct investment relative to the size of their economies during 2025.
The ranking comes after Namibia attracted 16 greenfield investment projects in 2025, its second-highest annual total on record after the 19 projects secured in 2024.
Among the projects contributing to that performance were Nopal Carbon Farming's investment of about N$66 million in large-scale carbon farming and biofuel production, the Kokoseb Gold Project's investment of approximately N$381 million to advance mine development, ISPS Solar Operations Namibia's N$180 million investment in a 10.75MW solar photovoltaic facility supplying electricity to mining operations, and Kudu Biomass' N$120 million biomass processing facility that converts encroacher bush into renewable biomass products.
Relative to the size of Namibia's economy, the number of projects highlights the country's ability to attract investment at a rate that exceeds many larger economies.
The allure of the Orange Basin
The report said growing international interest has been fuelled in part by major offshore oil and gas discoveries in the Orange Basin.
"Major oil and gas discoveries in Namibia's offshore Orange Basin have piqued foreign investors' interest," fDi Intelligence said.
Exploration successes by international energy companies since 2022 have helped place Namibia among Africa's fastest-growing investment destinations, while the country's ambitions to develop a green hydrogen industry have further broadened investor interest.
The International Monetary Fund also noted in a June 2026 staff report that progress in oil, gas and green hydrogen development, together with improved global sentiment, could significantly strengthen investment and economic growth in Namibia.
NIPBD explains what strengthened Namibia INC’s appeal
The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) attributed the country's strong performance to a combination of political stability, strategic location, abundant natural resources and expanding opportunities across sectors including renewable energy, mining, mineral beneficiation, agriculture, manufacturing, logistics and tourism.
The board also pointed to recent reforms aimed at improving the investment climate.
Among them was Namibia's removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in June 2026 after addressing 13 action items, restoring the country's standing in the international financial system.
Other initiatives include the establishment of the Namibia Regulators Forum in October 2025 to improve regulatory coordination and ease of doing business, as well as the launch of the Namibia Public Private Forum under President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, which has proposed reforms including a five-year investor visa and measures to support economic recovery.
Despite the strong ranking, the NIPDB cautioned that Namibia's performance across broader competitiveness indicators remains mixed and that further reforms are needed to sustain investment momentum.
-additional reporting by fdi Intelligence
