Repositioning Namibia’s energy ambitions at Africa Energy Week
Africa’s energy renaissance is gathering pace, and Namibia now finds itself standing at a strategic inflection point — one where our actions, or inaction, will determine whether we remain spectators or evolve into architects of our energy destiny. The Africa Energy Week (AEW) 2025, themed “Invest in African Energies”, has fast become the continent’s premier platform for financiers, operators, policymakers, and innovators to unlock Africa’s energy value chains. For Namibia, this isn’t just another industry event — it’s a litmus test of our readiness and alignment in driving sustainable, inclusive growth through energy.
Why AEW 2025 Matters for Namibia
According to the African Energy Chamber’s 2025 Outlook Report, Africa is on track for a capital expenditure surge, from $43 billion in 2025 to $54 billion by 2030. Namibia’s inclusion in this transformative story will be determined by three critical milestones ahead of AEW: Namibia International Energy Conference (NIEC 2025)
Namibia Local Content Conference (June 2025) Youth in Oil & Gas Summit (July 2025) These aren’t mere events — they’re indicators of Namibia’s seriousness in aligning energy development with sustainable policy, local participation, and youth integration. The outcomes of these gatherings will shape investor confidence, national narratives, and ultimately influence Final Investment Decisions (FID) in 2026.
Building a Sustainable Energy Value Chain Together
The conversation around Namibia’s energy mix — from offshore oil discoveries by TotalEnergies and BW Energy, to green hydrogen investments and renewable projects — is timely. Yet it must evolve beyond technical updates into actionable strategies. AEW should catalyze deeper discussions on capacity building, policy readiness, local capital markets, risk insurance frameworks, and value-retention strategies. The recent joint oil refinery discussions between Botswana and Namibia demonstrated that intra-African collaboration is no longer a distant concept — it’s
an urgent imperative. This initiative marks a pioneering step towards a sustainable regional energy value chain and positions both nations as champions of African-led industrialization.
But for Namibia, the conversation cannot end at infrastructure or first oil production. We must adopt a funnel-based approach to sectoral and national development — a step-by-step framework that unlocks value progressively while laying the foundations for long-term resilience. A critical focus area post-first production (projected from 2029-2036 onwards) must
be on building strong, efficient, and future-ready institutions. Sustainable energy prosperity cannot exist in isolation from good governance, local authority capacity,
and essential service delivery.
For instance:
Local Authorities should prioritize the adoption of smart water meters to accurately measure household consumption, enhance revenue collection, and strengthen municipal balance sheets. This will directly support the effective implementation of the National Water Reuse Strategy, ensuring water security for growing towns and industrial sites.
Road infrastructure must be consistently maintained and expanded to accommodate logistics demands from energy, agriculture, and trade sectors. Education and skills development programs — both locally and through international partnerships — should be scaled to nurture a generation of homegrown professionals in energy economics, petroleum law, data analytics,
logistics, and clean energy innovation. Institution-building isn’t merely about bureaucracy. It’s about creating a governance ecosystem capable of managing wealth, risk, and opportunity. Strong institutions foster investor confidence, social stability, and accountable leadership — the essential ingredients for sustainable, inclusive growth.
As Namibia moves into the production and value-creation phase beyond 2036, this institutional groundwork will enable the country to diversify its economy, ensuring that oil, gas, hydrogen, and renewables catalyze progress in health, education, infrastructure, financial services, agriculture, and digital innovation. The conversation at AEW 2025 and beyond must therefore include not only deals and discoveries but also clear roadmaps for institutional reform and governance innovation. This is how nations like Norway and the UAE converted natural resources
into national prosperity — and Namibia can do the same, on its own terms.
The Role of the Local Content Conference and Youth Summit
The Local Content Conference must redefine collaboration as a shared prosperity exercise — Namibia’s greatest assets are its people and resources; investors bring capital and technical expertise. A transactional approach undermines long-term project health. Instead, frameworks should prioritize Namibian participation, SME empowerment, and capacity development, ensuring both profitability and national equity. Equally, the Youth in Oil & Gas Summit must move beyond dialogue. Namibia’s youth — who form the majority of the population — deserve structured entry points into the sector via business opportunities, professional internships, mentorships, and representation on advisory bodies. I respectfully challenge our leaders to appoint a youth representative to the highest policy advisory structures within the energy sector. Such symbolic and practical inclusion signals continuity, confidence, and
shared ownership.
Namibia’s Moment at Africa Energy Week
By September 2025, Namibia has the opportunity to arrive at AEW not just with promises but with proven, deliberate, and inclusive progress. This positions us as a country of the say-do ratio — where national unity, policy stability, and investor alignment converge to de-risk projects, expedite FIDs, and future-proof the sector. Our commitment at COP26 and ongoing green investments must be matched by internal stakeholder cohesion. This clarity is what global investors value most beyond geological viability — governance stability, youth inclusion, local
partnerships, and enduring institutional frameworks.
The Bigger Picture: What Namibia Must Do Now
What we do, say, and with whom we say it over the next months will shape AEW 2025 and Namibia’s energy trajectory beyond 2026. We must deliver not for today’s
audience, but for tomorrow’s Namibia. Our actions must echo our late Founding President Dr. Sam Nujoma’s words: “A united people fighting for a common goal will always emerge victorious.” It’s time to reposition our narrative — from observers to architects, from extraction to shared value creation, from labour to leadership. The decisions we take now
must outlive us, securing energy prosperity for generations. Let’s hold hands now and build a sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous Namibian energy future — one deal at a time.
*Kovimariva Mungunda is an emerging investment and energy analyst with a career focus on finance, energy markets, and sustainable development.**
Why AEW 2025 Matters for Namibia
According to the African Energy Chamber’s 2025 Outlook Report, Africa is on track for a capital expenditure surge, from $43 billion in 2025 to $54 billion by 2030. Namibia’s inclusion in this transformative story will be determined by three critical milestones ahead of AEW: Namibia International Energy Conference (NIEC 2025)
Namibia Local Content Conference (June 2025) Youth in Oil & Gas Summit (July 2025) These aren’t mere events — they’re indicators of Namibia’s seriousness in aligning energy development with sustainable policy, local participation, and youth integration. The outcomes of these gatherings will shape investor confidence, national narratives, and ultimately influence Final Investment Decisions (FID) in 2026.
Building a Sustainable Energy Value Chain Together
The conversation around Namibia’s energy mix — from offshore oil discoveries by TotalEnergies and BW Energy, to green hydrogen investments and renewable projects — is timely. Yet it must evolve beyond technical updates into actionable strategies. AEW should catalyze deeper discussions on capacity building, policy readiness, local capital markets, risk insurance frameworks, and value-retention strategies. The recent joint oil refinery discussions between Botswana and Namibia demonstrated that intra-African collaboration is no longer a distant concept — it’s
an urgent imperative. This initiative marks a pioneering step towards a sustainable regional energy value chain and positions both nations as champions of African-led industrialization.
But for Namibia, the conversation cannot end at infrastructure or first oil production. We must adopt a funnel-based approach to sectoral and national development — a step-by-step framework that unlocks value progressively while laying the foundations for long-term resilience. A critical focus area post-first production (projected from 2029-2036 onwards) must
be on building strong, efficient, and future-ready institutions. Sustainable energy prosperity cannot exist in isolation from good governance, local authority capacity,
and essential service delivery.
For instance:
Local Authorities should prioritize the adoption of smart water meters to accurately measure household consumption, enhance revenue collection, and strengthen municipal balance sheets. This will directly support the effective implementation of the National Water Reuse Strategy, ensuring water security for growing towns and industrial sites.
Road infrastructure must be consistently maintained and expanded to accommodate logistics demands from energy, agriculture, and trade sectors. Education and skills development programs — both locally and through international partnerships — should be scaled to nurture a generation of homegrown professionals in energy economics, petroleum law, data analytics,
logistics, and clean energy innovation. Institution-building isn’t merely about bureaucracy. It’s about creating a governance ecosystem capable of managing wealth, risk, and opportunity. Strong institutions foster investor confidence, social stability, and accountable leadership — the essential ingredients for sustainable, inclusive growth.
As Namibia moves into the production and value-creation phase beyond 2036, this institutional groundwork will enable the country to diversify its economy, ensuring that oil, gas, hydrogen, and renewables catalyze progress in health, education, infrastructure, financial services, agriculture, and digital innovation. The conversation at AEW 2025 and beyond must therefore include not only deals and discoveries but also clear roadmaps for institutional reform and governance innovation. This is how nations like Norway and the UAE converted natural resources
into national prosperity — and Namibia can do the same, on its own terms.
The Role of the Local Content Conference and Youth Summit
The Local Content Conference must redefine collaboration as a shared prosperity exercise — Namibia’s greatest assets are its people and resources; investors bring capital and technical expertise. A transactional approach undermines long-term project health. Instead, frameworks should prioritize Namibian participation, SME empowerment, and capacity development, ensuring both profitability and national equity. Equally, the Youth in Oil & Gas Summit must move beyond dialogue. Namibia’s youth — who form the majority of the population — deserve structured entry points into the sector via business opportunities, professional internships, mentorships, and representation on advisory bodies. I respectfully challenge our leaders to appoint a youth representative to the highest policy advisory structures within the energy sector. Such symbolic and practical inclusion signals continuity, confidence, and
shared ownership.
Namibia’s Moment at Africa Energy Week
By September 2025, Namibia has the opportunity to arrive at AEW not just with promises but with proven, deliberate, and inclusive progress. This positions us as a country of the say-do ratio — where national unity, policy stability, and investor alignment converge to de-risk projects, expedite FIDs, and future-proof the sector. Our commitment at COP26 and ongoing green investments must be matched by internal stakeholder cohesion. This clarity is what global investors value most beyond geological viability — governance stability, youth inclusion, local
partnerships, and enduring institutional frameworks.
The Bigger Picture: What Namibia Must Do Now
What we do, say, and with whom we say it over the next months will shape AEW 2025 and Namibia’s energy trajectory beyond 2026. We must deliver not for today’s
audience, but for tomorrow’s Namibia. Our actions must echo our late Founding President Dr. Sam Nujoma’s words: “A united people fighting for a common goal will always emerge victorious.” It’s time to reposition our narrative — from observers to architects, from extraction to shared value creation, from labour to leadership. The decisions we take now
must outlive us, securing energy prosperity for generations. Let’s hold hands now and build a sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous Namibian energy future — one deal at a time.
*Kovimariva Mungunda is an emerging investment and energy analyst with a career focus on finance, energy markets, and sustainable development.**
