Namibia's green pipeline reaches US$20bn
Namibia's green industrialisation project pipeline is estimated at about US$20 billion, against concessional finance of just over US$1 billion that the government expects to raise, the African Green Industries Summit (AGIS) heard in Swakopmund on Wednesday.
Joseph Mukendwa, interim head of programme at the Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme, told delegates that the pipeline was compiled from an expression of interest run from September 2025 to February 2026. It covers green ammonia, fertiliser production, biomethanol, hydrogen power and storage, critical minerals and manganese refining, electrolyte manufacturing, and ceramics and glass. He said the projects were likely to reach final investment decisions within 24 months.
Namibia applied to the Climate Investment Funds Industry Decarbonisation Programme in 2025 and was shortlisted in June that year, giving it access to up to US$250 million in concessional finance. Mukendwa said that, if the process was completed successfully, matching contributions from the African Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank would take the total raised through the programme to more than US$1 billion. The Sectoral Transformation Investment Plan is being finalised and has not yet been submitted.
Reeadiness amid constraints
He listed the constraints facing the sector as long-term offtake agreements, cost competitiveness, financing gaps, infrastructure development, community trust, skills shortages, local enterprise capacity and competition for land.
"Namibia is ready for business, and we have the pipeline to be able to do that," Mukendwa said.
National Planning Commission director-general Kaire Mbuende, who chairs the Green Industries Council, said the move away from the summit's hydrogen-focused predecessor reflected a change in policy.
"The journey from the Global African Hydrogen Summit to the African Green Industries Summit is consistent with our policy shift," he said. "The issue before us is therefore no longer only how much green hydrogen we can produce. It is what we can manufacture with it, the minerals we can beneficiate, the industries we can decarbonize, and the infrastructure we can develop."
Mbuende said NDP6 sets a target of increasing the contribution of secondary industries to 25% of GDP by 2030, with manufacturing rising from 10.6% to 18% and manufactured goods reaching 60% of total goods exports. Green hydrogen targets under the plan include 1.3 million tonnes of green ammonia a year, 2 million tonnes of direct-reduced iron, 143 gigawatt-hours of green baseload electricity, 30,000 green hydrogen-related jobs and 30% local content and participation by 2030.
He cited HyIron Oshivela as a demonstration of low-carbon iron production, and the Daures Green Hydrogen Village for agriculture, fertiliser production, skills development and rural enterprise.
Mbuende said strategic environmental and social assessments were being undertaken in Namibia's green hydrogen valleys to identify sensitive areas and determine where development should proceed, where mitigation was required and where it should be avoided.
"Namibia should not be forced to choose between development and conservation," he said. "That is a false choice."
Mass demand from the EU
European Union director for international partnerships Erica Gerretsen said the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative targets at least 50 gigawatts of renewable electricity and energy access for 100 million people in Africa by 2030, with more than 1,000 electricity projects under way across the continent.
"Africa's green industrial future must be shaped by African leadership, African priorities, and African value creation," Gerretsen said. "Investors do not invest in ambition alone."
Erongo governor Nathalia /Goagoses said the region's solar and wind resources, mineral deposits, the port of Walvis Bay and existing logistics infrastructure positioned it as a potential hub for the sector, but that investment alone was not the measure of success.
"Our ambition must go beyond attracting investment," she said. "It must create jobs, not only jobs, but decent jobs for our people."
The inaugural summit is running at the Swakopmund Hotel and Entertainment Center on 9 and 10 September under the theme "Powering African Industries for Sustainable Development". Organised by NEA Consulting, with the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board as strategic partner, it has drawn delegates from across Africa and beyond to a venue filled to capacity. The programme runs to 12 panel discussions across the two days, closing with a conference declaration to be signed by African ministry representatives and international participants. Site tours to green hydrogen and renewable energy projects in the Erongo region follow on Friday.
