08/08/2026
Namibia has capital to fund oil industry, but reforms needed to unlock local participation
Namibia has sufficient domestic capital to finance meaningful participation in its emerging oil and gas industry, but structural bottlenecks, slow decision-making and weak investment mechanisms risk limiting local ownership, according to Cirrus Capital Director Roland Brown.
Speaking at the Bank of Namibia's seminar on preparing the financial sector for a sustainable oil and gas economy, Brown said the country has an estimated N$350 billion in domestic savings and a banking sector with about N$195 billion in assets, providing a strong financial base for local investment.
However, he warned that the biggest challenge is not access to capital, but the lack of structures capable of connecting available funding with investment opportunities in the oil and gas value chain.
"So, the implication of this, I think, is that there is capital in Namibia. There are the commercial banks, obviously they have capital, as well as pension funds, insurers, asset managers, and private savings. In addition to all the contractual money, there is also private capital from high-net-worth individuals and individual savings, which may be willing to participate in this oil and gas space. I would go as far as arguing that capital is probably not the single biggest constraint for owning significant portions of the value chain," Brown said.
https://miningandenergy.com.na/namibia-has-capital-to-fund-oil-industry-but-reforms-needed-to-unlock-local-participation/
