Presidential initiative from the Bi-National Commission takes shape as a practical platform for private sector collaboration, with a strong focus on unlocking opportunities for MSMEs

The Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) today announced the formal launch of the Namibia South Africa Business Council will take place at Gallagher Convention Centre tomorrow. The Council, a joint private sector platform has been designed to translate the strong political relationship between the two countries into tangible trade, investment and partnership outcomes for businesses on both sides of the border.

The Council traces its origins to the 2023 Bi-National Commission (BNC) between Namibia and South Africa, where the two Heads of State agreed to establish a dedicated business council as a mechanism for coordinated, concerted private sector action. Tomorrow’s launch formalises that presidential commitment into an operating structure that businesses can engage with directly.

Titus Nampala, Chief Executive Officer of the NCCI said: “This Council is the private sector taking up the mandate that our two Presidents gave us. The Bi-National Commission created the political runway. Our task now is to make sure that runway leads somewhere real – to signed deals, cross-border partnerships and growth that Namibian and South African businesses can actually feel. We are building a Council that listens, leads and delivers and that is deliberately designed to open doors for our large corporates and our MSMEs alike.”

Namibia and South Africa share one of the region’s most established and interdependent trading relationships, underpinned by decades of cooperation across mining, agriculture, financial services, logistics, manufacturing and tourism. Yet business leaders on both sides have long argued that the relationship’s full potential remains underexploited, constrained by fragmented engagement, limited visibility of opportunities, and a lack of structured platforms connecting private sector actors across the border.

The Business Council is intended to close that gap. It will function as a standing platform through which companies, industry associations and trade bodies from both countries can identify joint ventures, resolve trade facilitation and market access obstacles and coordinate positions on issues such as cross-border logistics, non-tariff barriers, regional value chains and investment promotion.

Advocate Mtho Xulu, President of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) welcomed the launch as a milestone in operationalising the countries’ economic partnership.“For too long, the depth of goodwill between our two countries has outpaced the depth of our commercial engagement,” Xulu said. “This Council gives business leaders in both countries a standing table to sit at – not once every few years at a summit, but on an ongoing basis. That is how trust is built and that is how real progress is made.”

 A platform built with MSMEs in mind

While large corporates and established investors stand to benefit from deeper bilateral engagement, it was emphasised that the Council has been deliberately structured to be accessible to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which form the backbone of both economies but often lack the networks, information and capital access needed to trade or invest across borders.

Through the Council, MSMEs will gain access to structured matchmaking with South African and Nambian counterparts respectively, information on regulatory and market entry requirements and a direct channel to raise the practical barriers – from customs procedures to financing gaps – that disproportionately affect smaller businesses attempting to scale regionally.

“No Namibian enterprise should be left out of this opportunity because of its size,” Nampala said. “SMEs are the heartbeat of inclusive growth and this Council must generate sustainable, decent jobs and open doors that were previously only accessible to the biggest players.”

Strategic value of deeper economic cooperation

Officials from both chambers framed the Council as more than a bilateral convenience – describing it as a strategic response to the shifting regional and continental trade landscape, including the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). By strengthening cross-border industrial and investment linkages now, Namibia and South Africa aim to position themselves jointly as a competitive gateway for trade and industrialisation on the west coast of the continent, spanning sectors from green hydrogen and critical minerals to agro-processing and logistics.

The NCCI noted that the Council’s success will depend on the private sector’s willingness to use it. Both chambers issued a joint call to action, encouraging companies of all sizes – from established exporters to first-time cross-border traders – to register interest, attend upcoming engagement sessions and bring forward the specific trade and investment opportunities they want the Council to help unlock.

“A council is only as valuable as the investable projects it produces,” Nampala said. “We are inviting Namibian businesses to come to the table, tell us what is standing between them and the South African market and help us build a partnership that works from the ground up.”

The NCCI confirmed that further details on the Council’s governance structure, sector working groups and first business-to-business engagement sessions will be communicated in the coming weeks.

About the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI)

The NCCI is Namibia’s national business advocacy body, representing the interests of the Namibian private sector, from large corporates to MSMEs, in engagements with government, regulators and international partners.

A direct expression of NCCI’s mandate to members

For NCCI members, the Council is not a stand-alone initiative sitting alongside the Chamber’s work – it is a direct, practical expression of NCCI’s mandate, giving members a tangible channel through which each area of the Chamber’s mandate delivers value.

• Trade and Investment: The Business Council is this line of service in action. It gives NCCI’s trade and investment facilitation work a formal, bilateral structure through which members can pursue cross-border deals, joint ventures and market entry into South Africa.
• Advocacy and Research: Engagements through the Council – including structured dialogue with South African counterparts – will surface real, evidence-based priorities for NCCI’s advocacy agenda, including ease of doing business, access to finance and tax reform. Issues raised by members through the Council will feed directly into the Chamber’s research and policy advocacy with government.
• MSME Development: The Council has been deliberately built as an access point for MSMEs, not only a channel for large corporates. Through it, NCCI will connect smaller Namibian enterprises to matchmaking opportunities, market entry guidance and regional partnerships that would otherwise be out of reach.
• Information and Networking: The Council extends NCCI’s information and networking role across the border, giving members improved visibility of South African market conditions, regulatory requirements and business opportunities, with the Chamber acting as the trusted conduit for that intelligence.

SUPPLIED.

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