The Namibia Industrial Upgrading and Modernization Programme (IUMP) was developed in 2009-2010 as a national pillar of the sub-regional Industrial Upgrading and Modernization Programme for the Southern African Development Community (SADC IUMP).

The main objectives of the Namibia IUMP are to:

• Increase the Namibian industry competitiveness
• Contribute to the strengthening of industrial capacities of Namibian companies facing the challenges of regional and world integration
• Support efforts to create employment and reduce poverty in Namibia

In focus: Improving competitiveness of Namibian products

Moreover, the Namibia IUMP is specifically designed to prepare and adapt enterprises and their operating environment to the free-trade setting. It allows companies to build productive and trade capacities able to deliver an increased number of competitive goods conforming to international quality standards.

It involves two goals:

• Increasing competitiveness in terms of price, quality and innovation
• Giving companies the ability to follow and assimilate the development of technologies and markets

Upon the request of the Ministry of of Trade and Industry (MTI), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) provided initial capacity-building for the national IUMP infrastructure at the programme’s kick-off phase. In particular, UNIDO’s technical contribution is based on the provision of technical, methodological and communication tools to the National Upgrading Office (NUO) as well as first-hand knowledge and best practices shared during the Training Workshop held in December 2011 in Windhoek and the Study Tour of the NSC Members to Tunisia in January 2012.

Interested? Join the programme