The Bank of Namibia convened a regulators roundtable on smart regulation, bringing together regulatory bodies, industry representatives and policymakers to discuss how Namibia’s regulatory framework can better support economic growth, innovation and investment while maintaining stability and consumer protection. The discussion produced a shared call for a more agile, adaptive and harmonized approach focused on outcomes rather than rigid compliance, with lower unnecessary compliance burdens and stronger coordination across sectors. Governor Johannes !Gawaxab argued that Namibia’s rules often mirror those of more advanced economies and may not reflect the country’s own socio-economic conditions. The roundtable highlighted the risks of excessive regulation, including weaker innovation, lower investment and a shift of businesses into the informal economy, and linked the case for reform to unemployment of 36.9% and youth unemployment of 44.7%, as well as persistent bureaucratic bottlenecks that hinder entrepreneurship. Participants backed regulatory pluralism through self-regulation, co-regulation and active stakeholder engagement, and identified priorities including greater regulatory agility, stronger collaboration among government, regulators and industry, deeper public-private partnerships, and wider sharing of best practices. Participants agreed to work toward engaging policymakers on responsive regulatory reforms aligned with the government’s focus on agriculture, industry and enterprise development. The Bank of Namibia said it will continue facilitating dialogue and seek to turn the roundtable’s outcomes into tangible policy actions.
Bank of Namibia2025-04-03
Bank of Namibia hosts smart regulation roundtable as participants back agile harmonized reforms
The Bank of Namibia hosted a high-level roundtable on smart regulation that produced support for a more agile and harmonized regulatory framework to promote growth, innovation and investment while preserving consumer protection and stability. Participants pointed to overregulation, bureaucratic bottlenecks and high unemployment as reasons to revisit current rules. They agreed to pursue greater cross-sector collaboration and engage policymakers on responsive reforms.