Winner of the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) 2019 Innovation Award, Pulsar Electronic Solutions proposed a smart metering platform to enable household and enterprise electricity users to control their electricity usage remotely using mobile devices. Although the Bank is actively engaged in financing additional generation and transmission capacity, it also recognises that streamlining and economizing electricity usage is an important factor in energy sustainability for Namibia.

In pictures

Presenting the Awards, are Economic Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Penda Ithindi and Chairperson of the DBN Board, Tania Hangula, as DBN CEO Martin Inkumbi looks on.

 

 

Winner of the Development Bank of Namibia 2019 Good Business Awards large enterprise category, Wordpress. The company prints newspapers and supplements, previously printed in South Africa and elsewhere. Among its goals, the Development Bank of Namibia provides finance for local manufacturers, with the aim of reducing imports from across the border.

 

Runner-up in the Development Bank of Namibia 2019 Good Business Awards large enterprise category, Ombepo Energy. Ombepo Energy constructed and operates Namibia’s first wind farm near Lüderitz in the //Karas Region. Ombepo Energy is a venture between InnoSun Energy Holdings and Lüderitz Town Council.

 

Winner of the Development 2019 Good Business Awards SME category, Ian Shuttle. The company provides transport services for other companies, shuttle services for hotels and chauffeur services. It employs more than 50 people.

 

 

First runner-up in the 2019 Good Business Awards SME category, Blue Box Technology. The innovative company, owned by young entrepreneurs, provides digital retail media, event management and coin operated cellphone charging kiosks with secure lockers.

 

Second runner-up in the 2019 Good Business Awards SME category, Miiyelo Investment. Miiyelo provides automotive retail services in Otjiwarongo, focusing on sale of tyres, wheel balancing, tow-in services and it operates a car wash.

 

Winner of the 2019 Innovation Award, Pulsar Electronic Solutions proposed a smart metering platform to enable household and enterprise electricity users to control their electricity usage remotely using mobile devices. Although the Bank is actively engaged in financing additional generation and transmission capacity, it also recognises that streamlining and economizing electricity usage is an important factor in energy sustainability for Namibia.

 

First runner-up in the Development Bank of Namibia 2019 Innovation Award, NamOceanic Kelp Production, proposed the manufacture of chicken feed from kelp. Chicken, is one of Namibia’s staples, and feed is currently imported. 

 

Second runner-up in the 2019 Innovation Award, Primebiochar proposed a soil supplement manufactured from biomass obtained in bush clearing. The supplement will assist in retaining water in the soil and improve nutrient value of the soil for horticulture.

 

Massive development impact. At the 2019 Development Bank of Namibia Good Business and Innovation Awards, Economic Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Penda Ithindi, said the Bank is a key agency in developing Namibia, and announced that the Bank has supported the creation of 24,000 new jobs and 32,000 temporary jobs since 2004 while approving over N$15 billion development finance for infrastructure and enterprise activities over the 15 years of its existence.

 

Innovation needs support and patience. Speaking at the 2019 Good Business Awards and Innovation Award, DBN CEO Martin Inkumbi said the Bank’s experience is that innovation is not an instant, overnight phenomenon, but an exacting process of enterprise maturation to the point of bankability.

DBN attended Public Discussion
Unlocking Growth: Exploring the challenges to market access and bankability for SMEs in Namibia.

Development Bank backs privately owned solar for enterprise

Solar a critical need for industrialisation

Development Privately owned solar generation is a significant force for the future of Namibian enterprises, says Development Bank of Namibia Head of Marketing and Corporate Communication, Jerome Mutumba.

There is a current moratorium on implementation of new solar photovoltaic feeds into the national electricity grid, but solar photovoltaic plants can still lend impetus to Namibia’s drive for industrialisation.

To explain this, Mutumba notes that the majority of Namibia’s electricity supply is imported, and that this limits confidence of investors. Mutumba cites a report by Musa Carter in The Economist newspaper of 25 October 2017, which states that a group of unidentified investors decided against establishing manufacturing facilities in Namibia due to concerns over electricity.

Mutumba goes on to say that although we have various national development programmes and policies that give impetus to the country’ aspirations, if the critical component of electricity to power industrial processes is not available, or is priced too high, economic development predicated on industrialisation will experience a sluggish ascent.

Mutumba acknowledges that electricity tariffs need to be marked up to support development of generation capacity and infrastructure, with a view to long-term reductions in imports of electricity, but this also has to be balanced with the needs of industrialisation, which not only will address current needs of economic development, but also the needs of future generations.

The differences in tariffs across the regions obviously make countries which offer lower electricity costs and greater local generation capacity far more attractive to industrialists. If Namibia is to compete, a model has to be provided which is cost efficient for industrialists and gives them security of supply.

Mutumba advances a model in which enterprises can own their own distribution capacity in the form of renewables, particularly solar. To illustrate the model, he uses DBN-financed solar power facility Sun EQ, which provides electricity to Ohorongo Cement. The Sun EQ facility, he says, secures the supply of electricity under an offtake agreement with Ohorongo, and also gives both entities the ability to agree on rates that make Ohorongo sustainable.

In term of financing, Mutumba says that a facility of this nature may be financed over a period of 10 or more years, out of an estimated lifespan of up to 30 years. Although the repayment is required for the period of 10 or more years, this can be recovered from sales of electricity during that period, subsequent to which the cost of generation falls substantially, and the gains can be used either for growth or in anticipation of future replacement.

This model, he says, should be advanced to industrialists as a solution to Namibia’s power deficit. In terms of the model the industrialist not only profits and grows as a result of core business, but can also profit and grow from the subsidiary business of supply of electricity for operational needs.

Talking about scale, Mutumba says, the Bank is open to discussion about the scale of the plant. He suggests that if scale is a concern to a single enterprise, neighbouring enterprises may consider forming consortiums.

Although this may seem unusual, this model can already be seen in shopping centres where electricity is supplied to a spread of tenants from solar installations on roofs. There is no reason why, given a bit of thought and ingenuity, it should not be applied to industrial parks office parks and housing developments, Mutumba concludes.