As CEO of Rich Africa Consultancy, the organizer of the Namibian International Energy Conference, Shimutwikeni will promote Namibian investment opportunities during AEW 2023 while driving dialogue around local content and advancing women participation in energy.
Africa’s premier event for the energy sector, African Energy Week (AEW) – taking place in Cape Town on October 16-20 – is proud to host a strong slate of industry experts for four days of networking and dealmaking. The African Energy Chamber (AEC) is proud to announce that Ndapwilapo Selma Shimutwikeni, CEO of Rich Africa Consultancy – the founder and organizer of the Namibian International Energy Conference (NIEC), a platform dedicated to driving investment in Namibia’s energy sector – will speak at the 2023 edition of AEW.
As a strategic advisory firm that specializes in natural resources law and policy, Rich Africa Consultancy works towards facilitating investment linkages across Namibia’s energy sector. Through a range of commercial advisory services, the organization is centered on driving growth across the Namibian oil, gas and mining sectors through thought-leadership platforms that explore key development issues. Platforms such as NIEC have been critical for not only driving investment into Namibia’s energy sector but expanding dialogue around challenges to development, global economic impacts and how the country can best position itself as the destination of choice for private sector capital and participation.
As CEO of Rich Africa Consultancy, Shimutwikeni leads the company towards realizing its goals of attracting private sector companies and investors to Namibia. For her part, Shimutwikeni is a natural resources law and policy expert who continues to unlock value for both the public and private sectors by collaborating with clients on strategy, policy and trade. Her wealth of experience covers areas such as sustainability, project management, research and analysis, policy drafting, fostering public-private partnerships and local content. Her work across the Namibian energy and mining sectors makes her an expert when it comes to investment, local content and regulation. These insights have not only been critical at NIEC, where she has been leading dialogue around Namibia’s investment landscape but will help potential investors at AEW 2023 gain the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about investing in Namibia.
In addition to policy and trade, Shimutwikeni is committed to ensuring the local Namibian population reaps the highest rewards of the burgeoning oil and gas industry. Following the country’s three major oil discoveries made in 2022 and 2023, the launch of billions-of-dollars-worth of green hydrogen projects and the fresh slate of acquisitions announced in recent months, Namibia’s energy sector is on the precipice of significant change. As an advocate for the increased involvement of the local workforce in oil and gas, Shimutwikeni will drive discussions around advancing capacity building, skills and technology transfer as well as regional partnerships during AEW 2023.
Her drive to improve opportunities for women in the oil and gas workforce, and specifically in leadership positions, will be instrumental at AEW 2023, where many discussions will center around advancing the participation and contribution of women in the African energy sector. Through NIEC and various other initiatives, Shimutwikeni is working towards improving equality, inclusivity and gender diversity, thereby positioning women at the forefront of Africa’s energy transformation.
“Industry professionals such as Selma Shimutwikeni and platforms such as NIEC continue to be instrumental in unlocking a new era of investment and development across the African energy sector. From spearheading market-focused events to facilitating billions-of-dollars-worth of investment to engaging a suite of high-level regional and global players, Shimutwikeni is committed to Africa’s energy future. During AEW 2023, we are looking forward to her insights regarding local content, private investment opportunities and how, as an industry, we can advance the participation of women and youth in oil and gas. AEW 2023 supports NIEC as a platform for driving investment in Namibia and we are excited to see this trend replicated in other markets across the continent,” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC.
AEW is the AEC’s annual energy event uniting regional governments and policymakers with global investors under a mandate of increasing investment and deals across Africa’s energy sector. This year’s edition takes place under the theme, ‘The African Energy Renaissance: Prioritizing Energy Poverty, People, the Planet, Industrialization and Free Markets.’ For more information about this important event, visit www.aecweek.com and secure your spot at the biggest gathering of energy stakeholders on the African continent.
