UK eyes Namibia business chamber
The British High Commission is working to establish a British chamber of commerce in Namibia by next year to help UK companies enter the local market.
High Commissioner Neil Bradley, who is visiting the Erongo coast this week, told Network Media Hub that the proposed body would assist British businesses, lead trade delegations to Namibia and the region, and provide investors with market insights.
“We are working towards establishing a British Chamber of Commerce type model that will be able to assist British businesses interested in the Namibian market. That is something that we hope to have in place by next year,” he said.
It would not be the first such initiative. In November 2011, then High Commissioner Marianne Young launched the British Business Group (Namibia), a forum for British companies operating in the country to share information on economic and commercial issues. Its members were still meeting visiting UK trade missions in 2016.
In neighbouring Zambia, a British Chamber of Commerce was established in 2014 to promote trade and investment with the UK.
The latest initiative comes amid growing trade between the two countries. Bradley said bilateral trade reached N$9.5 billion in 2025, an increase of 61%.
“So those are healthy figures. There is so much potential here,” he said.
He described the Erongo region as a gateway connecting Namibia and the wider region to global markets, pointing to developments at the Port of Walvis Bay and prospects in the oil and gas sector and its associated supply chains.
“So we would anticipate heightened interest on the part of UK companies in the Namibian economy,” he said.
His visit comes a week after Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote and President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah launched a US$2.5 billion fuel storage and regional pipeline project at Walvis Bay.
Bradley also highlighted the role of UK Export Finance, which can provide competitive commercial financing for infrastructure projects in Namibia, provided they include some British content.
“It doesn’t have to be a lot of UK content, but some UK content,” he said.
On green hydrogen, he said the UK had supported the Dâures green fertiliser pilot project with about £3 million channelled through the United Nations.
If expanded, he said, the project could make Namibia self-sufficient in fertiliser and potentially turn it into an exporter to the region.
Skills, tourism and residents
The High Commission also plans to promote its fully funded Chevening master's scholarships in the region ahead of next year's application cycle.
About 25,000 Britons visit Namibia each year, making the UK the country's third-largest tourism market after Germany and the United States.
Just under 60 British nationals live along the coast, many of whom came to work in the mining industry during the 1970s and 1980s.
Bradley met the mayors of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. Erongo Governor Natalia /Goagoses was unable to meet him because of prior commitments.
His programme also included a visit to the Save the Rhino Trust, a reception for British residents and a visit to an orphanage in Swakopmund.
Royal visits
The late Queen Elizabeth II visited Namibia in 1991, while Princess Anne attended the burial of former president Hage Geingob in February 2024.
Asked whether King Charles or another member of the royal family could visit Namibia in the near future, Bradley said such visits were agreed through a process in London and planned well in advance.
Pressed to commit, he said: “That’s beyond my pay grade, I have to say.”
He said he would like the UK to contribute to Namibia's success through people-to-people ties, clean energy and business.
“So I believe that Namibia’s best days lie ahead,” he said.
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