Namibia’s manufacturing sector is relatively small and contributes approximately 13% to GDP. Recent progress made in manufacturing has been due to the expansion of fish processing and the constant output of the meat processing industry. Considering the open nature of the Namibian economy, with almost all consumer goods being imported and most primary resources being exported largely unprocessed, there is clearly tremendous scope for import-substitution manufacturing as well as value-addition to Namibia’s rich natural resources.
To stimulate the expansion and diversification of the manufacturing sector for economic growth, the Government has put attractive packages of incentives for manufacturers and exporters of manufactured goods in place.

Food processing

Food processing industries are almost entirely oriented at the domestic market. Most of the raw materials for maize, wheat, sorghum flour, animal feed, bakery and margarine products, except dairy products, are imported from South Africa. There is no canning or preserving of fruit and vegetables. Namibia has an annual quota of 12,000 tonnes for the export of beef to the European Union. Most of this is covered by the export of chilled beef. Further value addition to beef is an attractive investment opportunity. The production and export of speciality venison cuts is another attractive area of investment.

Textiles and Garments

Opportunities exist in the processing of cotton within the textile and clothing arena. The EPZ regime is an attractive way of exploiting this opportunity.

Tanning of hides and skins

The tanning industry has existed for quite some time, but on a very limited scale. A few enterprises are involved in the tanning and manufacturing of leather products. Annually, about 200,000 cattle hides are processed locally up to the wet blue-stage. There is, therefore, enough raw material available to further develop the tanning industry up to the crust and finished leather-stage. Potential exists for the establishment of tanneries for cattle, sheep, goat, game, ostrich, crocodile and seal hides as well as the development of a fully-fledged leather-based industry for shoes, garments and accessories in Namibia.

Ostrich hatchery, abattoir and processing

Namibia’s fledging industry, involving the export of live chickens, eggs, as well as feathers and skins, took off after independence. The export of meat and skins (tanned and raw) is expected to increase significantly. Benefication of ostrich products in the country, such as leather tanning and the production of meat for export, is widely encouraged. Companies engaged in ostrich-based manufacturing operations have easy access to EPZ status as long as their products target export markets.

Description

The principals of Omega Cement recognised the niche of manufacturing cement in Namibia as all cement products used by the country are imported from South Africa and thus due to transport costs these commodities are expensive. namibia currently imports over 215,000 tonnes of cement annually. The proposed plant will have an annual capacity of 200,00 tonnes. Omega intends to penetrate the Namibian cement market with a product that will be competitive in price and superior in quality to present supplies. Local cement production will annually save Namibia nearly N$100 million in foreign exchange. In addition, the forthcoming completion of the railway line to the Angolan border will open up additional markets, particularly in the southern part of Angola.

Location

Between Karibib and Usakos

Legal status

Omega Cement Company is the holder of Exclusive Prospecting Licence No. 2740, covering 227 hectares. The Karibib Town Council have agreed, in principle, to the construction of the plant.

Cost

US$25 million

Status

A technical evaluation of the marble deposit has been conducted. A financial evaluation of the proposed plant, excluding mining costs and costs of transport of raw materials, has also been completed. The project can be considered in feasibility stage.

Project requirement

The company seeks finances up to an amount of US$25 million for the acquisition of land, erection of a complete 200,000 tonnes per annum cement plant and for working capital. Omega Cement is seeking a joint venture agreement with experienced operators.

Description

The objective is to establish a tomato paste processing plant for the local market, which will create job opportunities, encourage skills transfer and promote economic diversification through tomato production, by expanding the baseline of income generating activities.

Location

The plant will be located in Tsumeb, 400 kilometres north of Windhoek due to the proximity of both the communal and commercial farmers engaged in tomato production to this town.

Marketing

The market for tomato puree lies predominantly in the Namibian pelagic fishing industry which currently imports ±5 000 tons/annum from South Africa. The project has a high rate of success and will boost the production of tomatoes on a large scale. A feasibility study conducted in 1993 found the project to be viable and to have great potential for success.

Financial information - Capital requirements

The processing plant should have a capacity of 10 tonnes/hour

Year 1	US$
Processing Plant	4 000 000
Working Capital	750 000
Total	4 750 000

Employment Structure	Number
Management	8
Clerical	6
Labourers	16
Total	30

The cultivation of tomatoes is labour-intensive, and could thus provide employment for ±3,000 people on ±600 ha, in addition to the 30 plant employers indicated above.

Status and Requirements

The Namibia Development Corporation is looking for a joint venture partner to set up the project in Tsumeb. The investor should commit 60% and the Government 40% (subject to budget provision) of the total amount required.

Description

The primary objective is to establish a cotton ginnery to process cotton produced locally in order to promote value-adding, job creation and import substitution. At the moment all cotton produced in Namibia is exported to South African ginners in raw form. However, given the favourable climatic and soil conditions, and water and land availability, there is great potential for the large-scale production of cotton which will justify the establishment of a cotton ginnery.

Location

The plant will be located in Rundu, ±700 km north east of Windhoek or in Grootfontein, ±450 km north east of Windhoek due to the proximity of both the communal and commercial farmers engaged in the production of cotton.

Marketing

The establishment of the cotton ginnery will create a local market for cotton producers and encourage the expansion and sustained growth needed to produce cotton on a large scale. This will eventually serve as a springboard for the establishment of the textile manufacturing industry in Namibia.

Financial Information
Capital Requirements

The capacity of the ginnery should be 6-8 bales seedcotton/hour and 2-3 bales seedlint/hour respectively (8,638-10,000 tons seedcotton/year). The capacity of the ginnery should be able to expand as production increases.

Year 1	US$
Cotton Ginnery	1 666 666
Total	1 666 666

Employment Structure	Number
Management	4
Clerical	4
Labourers	12
Total	20

This will be in addition to ±5,000 jobs to be created for the production of cotton on an estimated field coverage of 15-25,000 ha under consideration.

Status and Requirements

The NDC is looking for private investor joint venture partnerships in order to establish the cotton ginnery in Rundu in the Kavango region. The investor should commit 60% and the Government 40% (subject to Government budget provision) of the total financial requirements.

Description

The Karakulia spinning and weaving company, established in 1979, produces carpets, rugs and wall hangings from pure wool, of which 90% is karakul. The company employs 50 people and operates a production workshop, showroom and shop.
Karakulia was born from the idea to create employment opportunities for Namibians using local raw materials. As the business grew and became more profitable, investments were made in equipment and also in human resource development. A staff housing project was also implemented in 1997 and so far 13 employees have taken up home ownership.
Since 1981 Karakulia has participated in 22 local and international exhibitions and trade fairs, most notably at Harrods of London, the Berlin Import Fair and the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. Location

Swakopmund

Status

At present sales exceeds production, with the company having orders for the next six months. 80% of the rugs and wall hangings are exported mainly by tourists, which is an offspin of the daily guided tours of the weaving shop.

Project requirement

Minority interest in return for a fixed period consultative retention engagement.

Capital requirement
US$200,000

Description

Mossi Nets manufactures a wide range of mosquito nets since 1990 and is well established in this rapidly emerging market. It is estimated that by 2004, close to 55 million Africans will acquire mosquito nets. The company has held the state tender for mosquito nets for the last five years, employs 15 women and uses modern industrial sewing machines in its operations.

Marketing

Exports will mainly be distributed amongst three countries, Germany; Republic of South Africa and Angola. The expected turnover is N$1 million. Tax benefits are to be registered as a small manufacturer in underdeveloped areas. An Angolan joint venture could be possible.

Location

Otavi, 400 kilometres north of Windhoek.

Capital requirements

• For stocks and equipment: US$50,000.
• For goodwill and contracts: US$50,000.

Project requirements

Takeover of the company, as proprietor wants to retire.

Description

The possibility exists for the beneficial exploitation of the mine dump in Uis, in northwestern Namibia. The promoters have identified this opportunity and as a result an experimental programme was designed in order to ascertain the possible financial rewards of such an undertaking.
Uis is situated close to the famous tourist attractions and historic landmarks, such as, the Brandberg (White Lady), Petrified Forest and Twyfelfontein. Exploitation of the tailing dumps at Uis will, in the long run, result in the rehabilitation of this area.
An alternative to conventional mining, understood as being both surface and deep level mining, that has become popular in recent years, is that of re-concentrations of mine tailings.
These tailings often contain sufficient head grades, which allow the exploitation of the tailing dumps to be economically viable. Increase in mineral extraction technology have led to the increase in both grades and recovery of various minerals, which has allowed many operations of this type to highly lucrative.
Several benefits of such an operation exist: the mining of the ore has already been carried out, thus feed preparation is minimal, allowing for vast decreases in the costs. The cost of the energy required for the communication of an ore body is significant. Also, the disposal cost of an existing tailings dump and the possible environmental implications are significantly reduced.
Mining for tin at the Uis location was started in 1924 after the deposit was discovered in 1911. In November 1958, the mine acquired by IMCOR, a wholly owned subsidiary of ISCOR, (a then South African state owned company). The mine closed in September 1990. Until just prior to the mine’s closure and for several years prior, Uis was the worlds largest hard rock tin mining operation, mining a low-grade tin ore. The mine was closed due to the low tin price and very low tin concentration in the ore.
The mining operation was open cast, with the blasted material transported with dump trucks. The ore was crushed and two different size fractions of ore reported to the recovery plant, a so called over and under- sized product (+1mm and –1mm). As a result of this practice, two tailings were produced, a so-called sand and slimes tailing.
At the present the area surrounding the mine at Uis is mined on a micro scale, due to a jointly drive establishment involving the Ministry of Mines and Energy (Windhoek, Namibia) and the Raw Minerals Group of Stockholm (Sweden). This project was initiated in 1994.
The tailing dump consists of two distinctly different mine waste products. It is estimated that the slime dumps is approximately 5 million tonnes with the sand dump being 75 million tonnes (British Geological Survey 1996)

Location

The Uis mine is located at the northeastern extremity of the Cape Cross Mineral Complex. The mine is accessible by road from a number of locations, with rail facilities being located at Omaruru (120 kilometres) and port facilities available at Walvis Bay (220 kilometres).

Cost

US$4,0 million, based on calculations for a plant utilizing the "pressing" technique, a further US$2,5 million for the exploitation of the slime dams. A further feasibility and viability study has to be undertaken, which will result in additional costs.

Project Requirements

The promoters are looking for investors for a joint venture in this business. Interested parties are invited to submit proposals for the utilisation of the raw material at Uis for the manufacturing of ceramics or glass products.

Description

The Company has developed Pasta produced from ostrich egg and primary processed wheat as basic ingredients. This makes it a niche export product. Preliminary research has indicated that we will have to extend our current capacities drastically in order to supply the demand for this product. We will also have to install equipment to produce hard wheat semolina. The company will need funding for these proposed extensions. We also seek partnerships with overseas companies who would perform the marketing and distribution in the global market either only in their local market or also in various countries.

Cost

Approximately US$3.25 million

Location

For logistical purposes the ideal location would be Windhoek the capital of Namibia

Status

A draft business plan has been compiled. The company seeks currently investors for the current company, with the intention to progress to the proposed business as set out in the business plan.

Project Requirements

Funding; Marketing and Distribution Agreements globally