By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Hangala
The Bank of Namibia, together with key national institutions, has started a comprehensive gap analysis of Namibia’s digital public infrastructure.
This was revealed by Ericah Shafudah, the Minister of Finance, in her address delivered at the 2025 Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) and Global Policy Forum (GPF).
She said the findings will guide the development of a national strategy and roadmap to accelerate the rollout of various infrastructures that can facilitate digital matters and ensure effective implementation.
The announcement comes at a time the country intends to enhance access to finance, and include the populace in the mainstream economy, with digital infrastructure identified as an enabler.
Digital matters include payments or basic banking, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies that can be harnessed—not for prestige, but for people.
“Our goal is to create new value, enable new, autonomous actors in our financial ecosystem, and unlock the potential of digital innovation to transform lives across Namibia,” noted Shafudah.
She said the digital revolution offers Namibia an unprecedented opportunity to leapfrog traditional barriers.
“We are investing not only in broadband infrastructure and platforms for money transfers, but also in building a comprehensive digital public infrastructure that will support the foundations of a modern economy—from digital identity to property registration, to business licencing,” Shafudah stated.
She added that the digital tools are critical for reducing costs and extending access to informal traders, farmers, and micro-entrepreneurs who remain vulnerable to economic shocks.
“It is our conviction that financial inclusion can indeed be catalytic for reducing inequality. True financial inclusion extends far beyond access to a bank account. For us, it is about granting economic agency to empower our citizens to save securely,” Shafudah remarked.
According to the FinScope Consumer Survey of 2023, 78 percent of Namibian adults now have access to formal or informal financial services—an increase from 51 percent a decade earlier.
However, even with the improvement, 22 percent of the population remains excluded, with this burden falling disproportionately on women, youth, rural communities, persons with disabilities, and the informal sector, Shafudah highlighted.
Speaking at the same forum, Namibia central bank governor, Johannes !Gawaxab stated that the role of robust digital financial infrastructure cannot be overstated.
He said digital infrastructure directly enhances economic productivity by reducing transaction costs, accelerating payments, and integrating marginalised populations into formal economic activities.
!Gawaxab noted that this is why Namibia’s Financial Sector Transformation Strategy 2025–2035 explicitly prioritises digital infrastructure development as the foundation to inclusive growth and financial sector modernisation.
He also echoed the country treasury’s sentiments that financial inclusion stands as a beacon of hope and opportunity in the quest for a more equitable world. This is because it ensures availability and equality, granting individuals and businesses the means to access a broad spectrum of financial services – from banking and payments to the robust realm of capital markets.
Moreover, the country has launched its Instant Payment Solution – a system designed to make sending and receiving money faster, cheaper, and accessible to all.
!Gawaxab explained that the solution is important given Namibia’s vastness and sparsely populated nature, as the innovation directly addresses the barriers of financial exclusion that traditional banking has long struggled to overcome.
“This is because establishing or maintaining physical bank branches in remote areas is costly and unsustainable, while agent banking has struggled to gain traction due to weak incentives. Rural communities remain underserved or unserved, with many residents cut off from the most basic financial services,” he highlighted.
The Instant Payment Solution will also enable 24/7, interoperable fund transfers between banks, digital wallets, and other platforms. erastus@thevillager.com.na
