Namibia’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata, has called for deeper industrial cooperation with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), citing Ghana’s textile capacity as a potential remedy for Namibia’s heavy reliance on imported apparel and fabric.
Nghituwamata made the appeal during a visit to AGI’s regional office in Ho, in Ghana’s Volta Region, as part of a broader tour aimed at assessing the country’s industrial base. She said Namibia currently lags in textile manufacturing and depends on imports to meet domestic demand, making Ghana — which she described as having built considerable capacity in the sector — an attractive partner for sourcing both raw and finished materials.
The visit, she said, was intended to give her a clearer picture of AGI’s operations and constituent sectors, as well as Ghana’s exportable goods and expertise, in order to identify concrete areas for collaboration. She argued that closer ties between AGI and Namibian industrial bodies could open channels for knowledge sharing, skills transfer, and expanded trade between the two countries.
Nghituwamata framed the appeal within a continent-wide concern: Africa’s persistent shortfall in value addition, particularly across manufacturing and agribusiness. She noted that many African countries produce similar raw commodities but lack the processing capacity to convert them into finished goods, a gap she said makes stronger intra-African cooperation essential to building shared industrial strength.
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Dela Gbeve, AGI’s chairman for the Volta, Eastern and Oti regions, welcomed the visit, calling it a significant step toward strengthening economic ties between Ghana and Namibia. He said AGI was ready to partner with Namibian counterparts to accelerate industrial growth and create jobs in both countries.
Gbeve pointed to AGI’s ongoing collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat as evidence of the association’s commitment to advancing the continental trade agenda. He said AGI continues to advocate for Ghanaian industry before government and policymakers while helping build the capacity of local entrepreneurs to compete internationally.
He also credited his predecessor, Dela Gadzanku, now AGI’s vice president for small and medium enterprises, for the region’s continued momentum, saying the Volta chapter is actively drawing on Gadzanku’s expertise to support ongoing industrial development efforts.