Staff Reporter
NAMIBIA has retained its position as Africa’s leading destination for greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI), ranking second globally in the 2026 fDi Intelligence Greenfield FDI Performance Index as growing investor confidence continues to be driven by major energy discoveries, renewable energy opportunities and an improving business environment.
The latest index, which assessed 98 countries, ranks Namibia second worldwide and first in Africa for attracting greenfield FDI projects relative to the size of its economy. Greenfield FDI refers to investment in which companies establish new operations or subsidiaries rather than expanding existing facilities.
Developed by fDi Intelligence, the Greenfield FDI Performance Index measures how successfully countries attract new investment projects by comparing their share of global greenfield FDI with their share of global gross domestic product (GDP).
Namibia achieved an index score of 7.74, behind the United Arab Emirates, which topped the rankings with 19.21. Rwanda placed third with 6.99, followed by Costa Rica with 6.50 and Qatar with 5.44.
Other African countries in the global top 10 include Zambia and Botswana, reflecting the strong performance of the continent in attracting investment relative to the size of its economies.
According to the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), the ranking demonstrates Namibia’s growing competitiveness and its ability to attract a greater share of international investment projects than its economic size would normally suggest.
In 2025, Namibia attracted 16 greenfield FDI projects, its second-highest annual total after the 19 projects recorded in 2024.
Among the investments contributing to this performance were the Nopal Carbon Farming project, which invested approximately N$66 million in large-scale carbon farming and biofuel production; the Kokoseb Gold Project, with around N$381 million invested in advancing a new gold discovery towards mine development; ISPS Solar Operations Namibia, which invested about N$180 million in a 10.75 MW solar photovoltaic facility supplying electricity to mining operations; and Kudu Biomass, which invested approximately N$120 million in a biomass processing facility converting encroacher bush into renewable energy products.
The report notes that, relative to the size of Namibia’s economy, this level of investment activity enables the country to outperform many larger economies in attracting new projects.
According to fDi Intelligence, growing international interest in Namibia has been fuelled by major offshore oil and gas discoveries in the Orange Basin.
The NIPDB added that investor confidence is also supported by Namibia’s political stability, strategic location, abundant natural resources and opportunities in green hydrogen, renewable energy, mining and mineral beneficiation, agriculture, logistics, manufacturing and tourism.
The board said continued reforms to improve the investment climate will be critical to maintaining the country’s strong performance.
It highlighted several recent developments, including Namibia’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in June 2026 after addressing 13 action items, strengthening international confidence in the country’s financial system.
Other reforms include the establishment of the Namibia Regulators Forum through the Bank of Namibia in October 2025 to improve regulatory coordination, as well as commitments made through the inaugural Namibia Public Private Forum, chaired by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, including the introduction of a five-year investor visa and national task forces on housing, health and economic recovery.
Despite the strong global ranking, the NIPDB said Namibia’s performance across other international competitiveness indices shows that further work is needed to strengthen the broader investment environment.
The board identified key priorities as improving regulatory certainty, particularly in the oil, gas and green hydrogen sectors, reducing regulatory barriers, upgrading infrastructure and service delivery, accelerating digital transformation, strengthening skills development, supporting micro, small and medium enterprises, and expanding access to finance.
It said these reforms would help position Namibia as a more competitive, resilient and investor-ready economy while maximising the long-term benefits of foreign investment.
PICTURED: fDi Intelligence magazine August–October 2026. Photo: fDi Intelligence
