WINDHOEK, April 17– Namibia needs to strengthen and modernize its financial system to boost investor confidence and unlock its full investment potential, a senior central bank official said on Friday.
Deputy Governor of the Bank of Namibia (BoN) Leonie Dunn made the remarks at the 2026 Cirrus Investor Conference, which brought together policymakers, investors and market participants to discuss economic trends and investment opportunities in the country.
Dunn said Namibia’s economy is expected to continue recovering over the medium term, supported by activity in construction, utilities and public-sector investment.
However, she cautioned that structural constraints remain, including the need to diversify the economy, expand value addition and develop new growth sectors to sustain long-term growth. She also named external risks, such as tighter global financial conditions, geopolitical uncertainty and volatile oil prices, which could drive inflation higher and weigh on the economic outlook.
Regionally, outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in neighboring countries pose risks to agricultural production and export performance, underscoring the need to safeguard key sectors, she added.
To address these challenges, the BoN is advancing a series of financial sector reforms to improve efficiency and strengthen resilience.
These include the rollout of an instant payments system to enable real-time, low-cost digital transactions, as well as the development of a Central Securities Depository to enhance transparency, efficiency and liquidity in capital markets.
The central bank is also expanding its gold acquisition program to strengthen reserve buffers and improve resilience against external shocks, in line with global central banking trends. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
