Tag: Namibia

Old Mutual buys major stake in the 5MWp Rosh Pinar solar power plant in Namibia

Frank

NAMIBIA – Old Mutual Investment Group Namibia, has acquired a majority stake in Aloe Investments Number Twenty-Seven, the project company that owns and operates the 5MWp Rosh Pinah solar power plant in Namibia. These shares were previously held by the Spanish company AEE Power Ventures. The value of shares bought by Old Mutual was not disclosed. The plant, which has a capacity of 5 MWp, went into commercial operation in 2017 and the 13.5 GWh produced annually by the solar farm are sold to the state-owned company NamPower under a…

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Telecom Namibia, Paratus partner to land subsea cable in Namibia

Frank

NAMIBIA – Africa’s leading integrator of technology Paratus and Telecom Namibia have signed an unprecedented agreement to land the subsea cable, Equiano, in Namibia. The agreement will also, critically, provide Namibian networks and their customers with greater capacity, enabling more product options that can stimulate economic growth and support a competitive telecommunication sector. “This is a major milestone for Paratus. We are honoured to be co-investing with Telecom Namibia on the Equiano subsea cable project because this matches our goals of delivering unlimited connectivity and building Africa’s quality network with…

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Private equity firm Eos Capital to buy stake in Erongo Medical Group

Frank

NAMIBIA – Private equity firm Eos Capital has announced it is in talks to acquire a minority stake in Erongo Medical Group (Pty) Ltd, the owners of the Welwitschia Hospital at Walvis Bay in Namibia. The transaction will cost several millions, and the deal is expected to be closed next week. The Namibian reported that the price and shareholding are yet to be made public. Erongo Medical Group (EMG) does not only run the Welwitschia Hospital, but also has Erongo Radiology, Ongwediva Medipark, and Medixx Occupational Health Services under its wings.…

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Nigeria’s biggest bank Access to merge with Cavmont Bank Namibia

Frank

NAMIBIA – Access Bank, Nigeria’s biggest commercial bank has identified eight African countries for potential expansion into in the coming years, including Namibia with the proposed merger with Cavmont Bank Namibia. Access Bank’s ambition to branch out is aimed at benefiting from a continental free trade pact that came into effect on 1 January this year. The big South African banks – Nedbank, Standard Bank and the FirstRand Group – have a big continental footprint, but Access Bank has in recent years become a force to be reckoned with in…

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Bank of Namibia appoints Sencia Rukata as new head of banking services

Frank

NAMIBIA – The Bank of Namibia has appointed seasoned banker Sencia Kaizemi-Rukata as the new director of banking services, effective from the beginning January this year. Kaizemi-Rukata replaces former director Sam Shivute, who moved to treasury as the new head of the Namibia Revenue Agency in September last year. The department Kaizemi-Rukata will head is responsible for issuing banknotes and coins to Namibians and visitors and also provides security services and assets to the bank’s staff, and is responsible for the bank’s Oshakati branch. Before her appointment, Kaizemi-Rukata was a…

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Development Bank of Namibia and Germany’s KfW sign agreement to finance SMEs

Frank

NAMIBIA – The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) and the Development Bank of Germany (KfW) have signed a loan agreement in which KfW will provide refinancing for DBN’s non-agricultural small business loan scheme. The loan scheme aims to form an integral part of Namibia’s Ministry of Finance’s “Economic Stimulus and Relief Package to Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19″. The interest-reduced loan amounts to approximately US$30.81million and DBN will provide the actual loans to non-agricultural SMEs that have experienced significant losses of income as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic.  The relief measure is aimed at supporting…

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Standard Bank Namibia appoints Mercia Geises as new CEO

Frank

NAMIBIA – Standard Bank Namibia has appointed its Head of Personal and Business Banking, Mercia Geises, as its new Chief Executive Officer to take over from current Chief Executive Vetumbuavi Mungunda with effect from 1 May 2021. “The Board is excited at the appointment of Mercia to lead us into an exciting new future following a well-planned and well-executed leadership management and succession programme, which, inter alia, is a demonstration of Standard Bank’s relentless commitment to growing our people and creating Namibian leaders. The success of this leadership development programme…

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Namib Desert Diamonds buys out Templesman in Namgem

Frank

NAMIBIA – State-owned Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) paid US$2 million to control a loss-making diamond manufacturing company that was co-owned by businessman Maurice Templesman. Namdia bought into Okahandja-based Namgem Diamond Manufacturing Company – despite lacking the technical capacity to run the factory and has now passed on the management of the company to an Indian entity as a technical partner. Before the acquisition, Namgem was a 50:50-owned company by the state and  Lazare Keplan International, a company owned by 91-year-old American diamond merchant Maurice Templesman. Namdia, which has in the…

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Namibia’s Kelp farm project to get US$60m investment from CFM and Eos Capital

Frank

NAMIBIA – Climate Investor Two (CI2), managed by Climate Fund Managers (CFM), Kelp Blue and the Namibia Infrastructure Development and Investment Fund (NIDIF), managed by Eos Capital, have partnered for a commercial development of the world’s first large- scale kelp farm. An investment of approximately $60million will be required over a 5-year period. This will be funded by both international and local Namibian sources through CI2 and NIDIF, pending investment approvals. Kelp Blue will seek the necessary Namibian regulatory approvals and will liaise closely with local authorities. Kelp Blue will…

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Namibian government pockets US$42.16m from fishing quotas auction

Frank

NAMIBIA – The government of Namibia has raised N$627.9 million (US$42.16m) from the auction of its fishing quota to both international and local companies, with the financing to be channelled to procure the required resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The amount was announced by minister of finance Lipumbu Shiimi, who said it is twice more than the N$315 million (US$21.15m) the government could have raised if fish quotas were sold at reserved prices, reports the Namibian. “The total amount raised from the auction amounts to N$ 627,936,827.10 (US$42.16m) including the application…

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