The 4IR and Opportunities for Economic Advancement

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and its technologies present unprecedented opportunities for Namibia to improve its economy. The emerging Green Hydrogen economy in Namibia can serve as a catalyst for Namibia to accelerate its adoption, use, creation, and application of 4IR technologies.

An eight-member Task Force on the Fourth Industrial Revolution was appointed on 1 July 2021, by H.E. Dr Hage G. Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia, to determine Namibia’s readiness for leveraging the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The Task Force commissioned the national 4IR country assessment to ascertain Namibia’s digital labor profile, reskilling requirements, and the impact of Artificial Intelligence on labor force dynamics. The 4IR Task Force organized the Namibia 4IR Conference and Expo on 7-8 June 2022, to serve as a center for a national dialogue on 4IR and allow the public to provide more input to the Country Readiness Assessment (CRA). Shortly after, the task force commissioned a national 4IR country assessment, which was presented to Cabinet and approved.

The Cabinet has instructed various offices, ministries, and agencies to act related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in Namibia. This includes appointing a National 4IR Commission to develop a national 4IR strategy, improving education and closing the digital skills gap, establishing a National Data

Centre, conducting a policy and legislative review of outdated laws, accelerating 4IR infrastructure development, setting a national roadmap for the future of work, prioritizing cybersecurity, mobilizing financial resources for 4IR development, improving the global trade environment, developing a robust e-government service, strengthening 4IR research and development capabilities, establishing a National Artificial Intelligence institute, and developing critical transport infrastructure networks.

These recommendations are awaiting final approval following the Cabinet workshop dedicated to discussing them.