Bank of Namibia wraps up East Africa central bank tour

Bank of Namibia (BoN) governor Ebson Uanguta has concluded a series of strategic engagements with peer African central banks, visiting the national monetary authorities of Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya in a regional tour aimed at deepening institutional cooperation and building capacity ahead of Namibia's changing economic landscape.

The visits, which took in Kigali, Kampala and Nairobi, reflect the BoN's broader effort to position itself as a knowledge institution capable of navigating the evolving demands of oil and gas development, digital transformation and regional financial integration.

Rwanda: MoU formalises Pan-African partnership

In Kigali, Uanguta led a technical delegation hosted by National Bank of Rwanda governor Soraya Hakuziyaremye and deputy governor Nick Barigye, where the two central banks signed a memorandum of understanding covering economic research, financial inclusion, digital transformation, digital payments, sustainable finance, innovation and capacity development.

The agreement builds on bilateral discussions initiated at the 2025 AFI Global Policy Forum, hosted in Namibia. The delegation also engaged with Rwanda's national e-payment switch, exchanging insights on payment modernisation and digital financial infrastructure.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Uanguta said the MoU represents "not a symbolic agreement, but a practical framework for implementation", aimed at translating the partnership into technical exchanges, staff collaboration and tangible institutional outcomes.

The delegation also visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial alongside Hakuziyaremye, where they reflected on remembrance, resilience, reconciliation and nation-building.

Uganda: oil revenue lessons for a new hydrocarbon frontier

In Kampala, the delegation was received by Bank of Uganda governor Michael Atingi-Ego and deputy governor Augustus Nuwagaba. The engagement focused on Uganda's experience managing oil revenues, with the Namibian team drawing lessons on petroleum revenue governance, monetary policy, reserve management, exchange rate management and financial sector resilience as Namibia 

prepares for commercial oil production.

The delegation also engaged the Petroleum Authority of Uganda on the country's oil and gas governance architecture. Uanguta said the BoN is deliberately repositioning itself as a knowledge institution, investing in capacity building and institutional learning ahead of Namibia's emergence as a hydrocarbon producer, while also advancing the country's ambitions in green industrialisation and renewable energy.

The visit reinforced cooperation under an existing MoU between the two institutions, with both sides supporting deeper technical exchanges, staff secondments and peer learning across oil and gas, research, financial stability and macroeconomic management.

Kenya: deepening an established partnership

In Nairobi, the delegation was received by Central Bank of Kenya governor Kamau Thugge. The engagement built on discussions begun at the 2025 AFI Global Policy Forum and a benchmarking visit by the Central Bank of Kenya to Windhoek in late 2025, which culminated in the signing of an MoU covering banking supervision, digital transformation, financial stability, research, innovation and capacity development.

Thugge highlighted several areas of mutual interest, including fast payment systems, monetary operations, virtual asset regulation, reserve diversification strategies involving gold acquisition, retail bonds, capital market infrastructure and joint research initiatives.