Reducing Poverty Through Growth

Fact Sheet

July 28, 2008 www.mcc.gov

Namibia and Millennium Challenge Corporation

Building a Partnership for 

Poverty Reduction through Economic Growth

The Millennium Challenge Corporation has signed a five-year, $304.5 million compact with the Government of 

Namibia aimed at reducing poverty and accelerating economic growth. The Compact aims improve the quality 

of education and training for underserved populations, and attempts to capitalize on Namibia’s comparative 

advantages (e.g., large areas of semi-arid communal land suitable for livestock, and diverse wildlife and unique 

landscapes ideal for ecotourism) to increase the incomes of poor Namibians in the northern areas of the country.

Education Project ($145.0 million)

•	 The education project seeks to improve the education sector’s effectiveness, efficiency and quality 

through infrastructure improvements, institutional strengthening, policy reform and targeted technical 

assistance to ensure sustainable results. The primary activities include:

General Education ($76.9 million)

•	 This activity seeks to bolster the quality of general education through the improvement of infrastructure 

and equipment in approximately 47 primary and secondary school campuses, primarily in the northern 

communities of Namibia, and training programs for school administrators and teachers. Additionally, 

this activity includes support to teacher training colleges for policy-relevant studies and science and 

computer training facilities.

Vocational and Skills Training ($29.1 million)

•	 This activity will improve vocational and skills training through the establishment of a National Training Fund within the Namibia Training Authority. This includes funding of priority projects including 

tourism training, construction and renovation of approximately nine Community Skills Development 

Centers and facilitating private partnerships to address market demand for employment.

Access to and Management of Textbooks ($14.6 million)

This activity will upgrade access to and management of school textbooks through operational support and 

reforms to establish more transparent, competitive acquisition processes for new textbooks and improved dis-
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tribution and management procedures. This includes funding the acquisition of science, math and English textbooks for grades 5 - 12 on a national level, improving classroom use of textbooks and piloting an improved textbook acquisition plan. Additionally, a system for monitoring textbook supply and demand will be implemented. 

Regional Study and Resource Centers ($20.9 million)

This activity will construct three regional study and resource centers in underserved areas in an effort to improve 

access to documentation, information resources, training materials and programs, as well as study facilities. 

Additionally, technical assistance and training will be provided for the staff of the regional study and resource 

centers. 

Expanding and Improving Access to Tertiary Education Finance ($2.1 million)

This activity aims to expand access to tertiary education through assisting the Ministry of Education in its efforts 

to establish a sustainable and more widely accessible tertiary and technical education finance system.

Cross-Project Support ($1.4 million): 

This activity seeks to strengthen to the Ministry of Education’s HIV/AIDS Management Unit, and to develop 

HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention plans related to construction activities.

Tourism Project ($67.0 million)

The tourism project will support three priority activities to improve the management and infrastructure of 

Etosha National Park, enhance the marketing of Namibian tourism, and develop the capacity of communal conservancies to attract investments in ecotourism and capture a greater share of the revenue generated by tourism. 

Together, these activities will increase incomes and create employment opportunities for some of the poorest 

populations in Namibia, while preserving the natural resources that serve as the base for the tourism industry. 

The primary activities include:

Improved Management and Infrastructure of Etosha National Park ($40.5 million)

This activity seeks to improve the management capacity of Etosha National Park (ENP), promote private sector 

investment in tourism in this area, and increase tourism revenue benefitting rural communal conservancies. 

MCC funding will provide for technical assistance in support of improved park management and a study of 

tourism carrying capacity, as well as support for potential tourism investments in and around ENP and other 

national parks in the north. MCC funds will also improve infrastructure for management centers and ENP staff 

housing, road building and maintenance capacity and the purchase of game translocation equipment.
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Promotion of Namibia Tourism ($8.3 million)

This activity seeks to expand the promotion of tourism to Namibia by developing and promoting local and regional tourism packages and creating a fully interactive ecotourism website. The promotion of local and regional 

tourism will help to create jobs for economically disadvantaged groups that have not been able to take part in 

the thriving Namibian tourism industry—which comprises nearly 14% of Namibia’s GDP— in the rural northern 

region of Namibia. Income generated from these jobs will help reduce poverty in these rural areas. Additionally, 

the promotion of sustainable eco-tourism packages will focus on directing anticipated increased tourists to communal areas adjacent to the ENP conservancy sites. 

Ecotourism Development in Conservancies ($18.2 million)

This activity will assist Namibia in building conservancy capacity to protect natural resources, attract investment, and achieve financial sustainability so that households in communal conservancy areas (or conservancies) 

can receive a greater share of revenues. Based on individual conservancy needs and demands, the activity will 

provide a range of technical assistance services and grant funding to approximately 31 high-tourism potential 

conservancies. Such assistance will help to mitigate existing barriers to tourism investment and help render 

the conservancies financially self-sustainable. In addition, grant funding to promote joint-venture tourism 

enterprises between conservancies and the private sector will be provided to a subset of approximately 15 of the 

conservancies. 

Agriculture Project ($47.0 million)

The agriculture project will target investments to sustainably improve the economic performance of the livestock 

sector in the northern area of the country. The project is expected to increase productivity and profitability of 

livestock through strengthening the land tenure system, introducing improved rangeland management practices, 

and strengthening animal health services and livestock marketing efficiencies. In addition, the project will 

increase the volume, quality and value-added of indigenous natural products for export to regional and international markets. The primary Activities include:

Land Access and Management ($21.2 million): 

This activity includes both improving the communal land regime and introducing effective community-based 

rangeland management activities. Under the Communal Land Support Activity, MCC will fund: (i) a comprehensive public awareness and outreach campaign to educate the public regarding their land rights; (ii) the 

streamlining of administrative procedures for land management; (iii) a systematic verification and registration 

process that will result in the formalization of land rights in the Northern Communal Areas (NCA); and (iv) 

capacity building for Communal Land Boards and other land administration institutions. The Communitybased Rangeland Management Activity aims to improve livestock quality and value by supporting training in 

community-based management of rangeland resources, herd management, and business management skills, 
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including specific outreach to women in small ruminant production and marketing. In addition, communities 

will be eligible to receive limited rangeland management infrastructure (e.g., water points, corrals, etc.) to support community rangeland management plans. 

Livestock Support ($19.1 million): 

This activity will support the construction of five veterinary centers in the underserved NCA and rehabilitation 

of two quarantine camps in the Caprivi region. This includes the implementation of a livestock traceability 

system, and a fund to support investments fostering greater efficiencies in livestock marketing, transport, and 

quarantine. The activity will also focus on diversifying market opportunities, including regulatory capacity 

building in the NCA. 

Indigenous Natural Products ($6.7 million): 

This activity will assist in increasing the volume, quality, and value addition of the natural products that Primary 

Producer Organizations (PPOs) collect and harvest, and to advance their operational and business capacity. In 

addition, this activity will improve market information to PPOs, provide capacity building for the Indigenous 

Plant Task Team and support the formulation of regulations, policies and implementation plans to ensure the 

protection of indigenous natural products.. 

Administration

•	 The Compact also includes approximately $39 million for administrative and oversight costs of the projects over a five-year timeframe, including the costs of administration, management, auditing, fiscal and 

procurement agent services, and environmental and social oversight. In addition, the cost of monitoring 

and evaluation of the Compact is budgeted at $6.6 million.

Expected Results 

Education Project:

•	 Over a million students across Namibia will benefit from improved provision of textbooks and an improved quality of education. An estimated 11,000 additional students will receive financing for tertiary 

education. In addition, a more sustainable fiscal framework for tertiary education will shift the distribution of benefits of public education towards the poor.

•	 Up to 49,000 undereducated and unemployed individuals over 20 years will receive training at the Community Skills Development Centers. An estimated 2,000 additional vocational training graduates will receive higher incomes due to improved training opportunities through the National Training Fund. Over 
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the course of 20 years, the targeted 47 schools for renovation and expansion will produce approximately 

41,700 graduates in primarily rural northern communities. 

Tourism Project:

•	 Up to 118,000 conservancy members within the approximate 31 conservancies are targeted to benefit 

under this project. A projected 7,000 Namibians will enjoy significantly higher incomes as a result of full 

and part time employment generated through the tourism project. The remaining 111,000 conservancy 

members are expected to receive indirect benefits to improve overall incomes and many of these will also 

benefit from conservancy-sponsored projects.

•	 Increased incomes generated by greater investments in Etosha National Park will lead to increased tourists and added value to the Namibian economy more generally. The promotion activities will result in an 

estimated additional 4,000 tourists per year, on average.

Agriculture Project:

•	 About 135,000 individuals, primarily in northern Namibia, will directly and indirectly benefit from 

improved market efficiencies, improved land tenure security and more equitable access to land. In addition, over 24,000 households will benefit from improved veterinary services, and an estimated 1,800 

households across 50 communities are anticipated to benefit from the rangeland management program.

•	 The indigenous natural products activity is expected to increase incomes for up to 15,000 households. 

This activity is expected to increase incomes for primary producers, a majority of whom are poor and 

female and for whom small increases in cash income provide important supplementary household benefits for up to 75,000 individuals.