Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi (born 11 November 1958) is a

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

n businesswoman and presidential advisor. On 17th May 2025, she was sworn in as a non-voting member of the National Assembly and subsequently appointed as the new Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Land Reform after Mac Hengari was relieved of his duties. She was formerly the managing director of Namdeb, the mining joint venture between the government of Namibia and

De Beers The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pi ...

corporation, since her appointment in 1999. Prior to her position at Namdeb, Zaamwani was an official in Namibia's Ministry of Mines and Energy from 1995-1998. However, she left the company in April 2015.

Education

Zaamwani studied at the

United Nations Institute for Namibia The United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN) was an educational body set up by the United Nations Council for Namibia from 1976 to 1990. Based in Zambia's capital of Lusaka, UNIN was the brainchild of United Nations Commissioner for Namibia Se� ...

(UNIN) in

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

from 1977-1981, when she graduated with a diploma in

development studies Development studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social science. Development studies is offered as a specialized master's degree in a number of reputed universities around the world. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the ...

. She has also attained post graduate leadership training from

INSEAD INSEAD ( ; French: ''Institut européen d'administration des affaires'') is a non-profit business school with locations in Europe (Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE) and North America (San Francisco, USA ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

and

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

(in collaboration with the

University of Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in ...

). Zaamwani is a qualified mining lawyer, having obtained her

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(Honours) from

Thames Valley University The University of West London (UWL) is a Public university, public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860 when the Lady Byron School was founded, ...

in London, and her

Master in Law Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

(LLM) from the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...

, Scotland.

Career

Zaamwani began her career in 1984 as a project officer in

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

's Women's council in

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

. She has had interests in

Air Namibia Air Namibia (Pty) Limited, which traded as Air Namibia, was the national airline of Namibia, headquartered in the country's capital, Windhoek. It operated scheduled domestic, regional, and international passenger and cargo services, having its in ...

and First National Bank of Namibia Holdings. Zaamwani-Kamwi serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Namdeb at De Beers Société Anonyme. Until June 2008, she served as the President of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She has been an Independent Non-executive Director at FNB Namibia Holdings Limited since January 2000. She serves as a Director of Extract Resources (Namibia) (Proprietary) Ltd. Zaamwani-Kamwi has been a Director of Extract Resources Ltd. since 3 April 2009. She serves as a Director of First National Bank of Namibia Ltd., Namdeb Property (Pty) Ltd., NamGem Diamond Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd., Diamond Board of Namibia, Fishcor and Seaflower Lobster, NOSA Namibia, Zantang Investments (Pty) Ltd. and NABCOA, XNET Trust Fund. She also serves as a Member of the Board of Namibia's premier companies, institutions and non-government organisations. She also serves as a Director of UNAM Council, Namibia Nature Foundation, Namibia Institute of Mining and Technology, Chamber of Mines Council, Junior Achievement Namibia, Vocational and Training Board, Namibia Chamber of Commerce & Industry. She is a Member of the honourable society of Lincolns Inn, London and a fellow of the Centers for Leadership and Public Values of the UCT Graduate School of Business.

References

1958 births Living people People from Grootfontein Members of SWAPO Namibian women in business Namibian businesspeople Namibian expatriates in Zambia Alumni of the University of Dundee Nieman Fellows Women members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Women government ministers of Namibia Government ministers of Namibia 21st-century Namibian politicians 21st-century Namibian women politicians Agriculture ministers of Namibia {{Namibia-bio-stub Namibian women