<p>Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, remote working has become an important part of business cultures across the world, including in Africa. Namibia, with its deserts and beaches, wants to capitalize on that opportunity, and attract ‘digital nomads’ to spend needed foreign exchange in the country, using a new visa category it launched back in 2022. But, two years on, the numbers of digital nomads who’ve passed through the program remains low. So what does Namibia need to do to compete for the global remote working community that boasts a market of more than 30 million people?</p><p><strong>Guests</strong></p><p>*<a href="https://www.ibn.co.za/team/andreas-krensel/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Andreas Kresnel</a> is a leading immigration expert on southern Africa, and is the founder of <a href="https://www.ibn.co.za/team/andreas-krensel/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IBN Immigration Solutions.</a> Based in South Africa, Andreas has worked on immigration issues in the region for more than a decade, opening two international IBN offices in Windhoek and Kenya in that time. He is the author of 3 books, including <a href="https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Andreas-Krensel-ebook/dp/B01DZWMMAA" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Corporate Immigration Guide to southern Africa.</a> Find Andreas' quick take on the Namibia's nomad visa <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/namibia-introduces-new-digital-nomad-visa-andreas-krensel" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a></p><p>*<a href="https://investigations.namibian.com.na/team-members/lazarus-amukeshe/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lazarus Amukeshe</a> is an award-winning business and investigative journalist with The Namibian, one of the country's biggest newspapers. He has covered developments on Namibia's nomad visa scheme since its 2022 launch. Lazarus was the 2023 Editors Forum Journalist of the Year in addition to being the best Business/Finance journalist. His latest reports <a href="https://muckrack.com/lazarus-amukeshe" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">are here.</a> </p><p>*<a href="https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=327154" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury </a>is the Lumry Family Associate Professor at the Harvard Business School where he prolifically researches the future of work, particularly the changing geography of work. Raj has also analysed the productivity of remote working and nomad visas. He is an Associate Editor at Management Science and is on Forbes' Future of Work-50 list (2023). Read Raj's take on why nomad visas can boost local economies <a href="https://hbr.org/2022/05/how-digital-nomad-visas-can-boost-local-economies" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p>Further Readings:</p><ul> <li><p>Namibia’s Nomad Visa <a href="https://nipdb.com/nomadvisa/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://nipdb.com/nomadvisa/</a> </p></li> <li><p>A guide to Namibia’s digital nomad visa <a href="https://digitalnomadsinafrica.com/destinations/namibia-digital-nomad-guide/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://digitalnomadsinafrica.com/destinations/namibia-digital-nomad-guide/</a> </p></li> <li><p>Namibia approves first nine nomad visa applications <a href="https://www.namibian.com.na/namibia-approves-first-digital-nomads/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.namibian.com.na/namibia-approves-first-digital-nomads/</a> </p></li> <li><p>Namibia welcomes first digital nomads <a href="https://neweralive.na/posts/namibia-welcomes-first-digital-nomads" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://neweralive.na/posts/namibia-welcomes-first-digital-nomads</a> </p></li> <li><p>Digital nomad visas are on the rise in Africa <a href="https://techcentral.co.za/digital-nomad-visas-africa-south-africa/233185/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://techcentral.co.za/digital-nomad-visas-africa-south-africa/233185/</a> </p></li> <li><p>Africa Woos Tech Talent As Remote Work Visa Trend Grows Worldwide: <a href="https://weetracker.com/2023/09/26/africa-woos-tech-talent/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://weetracker.com/2023/09/26/africa-woos-tech-talent/</a> </p></li> <li><p>This spectacular African country now has a digital nomad visa <a href="https://www.timeout.com/news/this-spectacular-african-country-now-has-a-digital-nomad-visa-101922" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.timeout.com/news/this-spectacular-african-country-now-has-a-digital-nomad-visa-101922</a> </p></li></ul><p><br /></p>