President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has reiterated her call for Namibian businesses to negotiate with investors from a position of strength and not simply as beggars.

The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) says expanding market access for Namibian businesses remains a key priority, with the South Africa-Namibia Business Forum having provided a platform for local companies to secure new trade and investment opportunities.

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah wants the newly established Namibia-South Africa Business Council to turn the tide on the widening trade imbalance by driving shared investment between the two countries.

Business leaders from South Africa and Namibia used the Namibia-South Africa Business Forum to urge their governments to back a new joint business council with concrete measures on industrialisation, green energy and faster, cheaper cross‑border trade.

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and her South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, have urged the private sector to seize opportunities created through closer regional integration. 

The Minister of Justice and Labour Relations, Wise Immanuel, emphasised that the government cannot compel private companies to employ workers permanently but can enforce the minimum wage order.

Petrosol Petroleum Solutions co-owner Johan Botes says creating an enabling environment for the private sector to grow is key to job creation and poverty reduction in Namibia.

Botes made the remarks during the company's 25th corporate anniversary gala held at Otjiwarongo.

The president of the Kenya-Namibia Chamber of Commerce has urged Namibian diplomats and business leaders attending the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi to pursue actionable investment deals and tangible business partnerships from engagements with Kenya and more than 30 African heads of state attending the summit.

Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare has called on government officials, especially those who hold positions of power, to ensure that they support all businesses regardless of whom they are acquainted with.  

A public discussion by the Economic Association of Namibia (EAN) highlighted the structural causes of joblessness and emphasised the need to better align the country's economic growth with job creation.