Namibia became a member of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) in 1990. In the early years, a number of analytical and advisory activities were undertaken, some jointly with the government, focusing on the development challenges it faced. In May 2007, the first ever Interim Strategy Note (ISN) for the period 2007-2009 was presented to the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors.

The World Bank has provided limited assistance on HIV through an Institutional Development Fund (IDF) grant. Namibia also benefits from technical assistance from the Global AIDS Monitoring and Evaluation Team and from capacity building initiatives provided to middle income countries in Southern Africa.

The first IBRD loan for Namibia – a Development Policy Loan (US$7.5 million) – was approved in May 2007. 
Namibia has benefited from several Global Environmental Facility (GEF) grants. There are two active GEF projects at present and a third one under preparation.

The IFC has been involved in small investments, and an IFC loan supported the construction of a 110-room Best Western hotel in northern Namibia. On the technical assistance front, IFC worked with the Namibian Agronomic Board to raise trust funds for a feasibility study of a cotton ginning industry.

For more information about World Bank support in Namibia, please refer to the Country Brief.