Nakara

This case study examines Nakara, a Namibian leather manufacturing company founded in 1980, detailing its operational structure, export markets, and the systemic regulatory and financial barriers it faces when trading with South Africa and other regions.

• Nakara is a Namibian-owned leather manufacturer that produces approximately 30,000 metres of leather per month. While it exports to France and Italy, South Africa is its primary market, receiving about 90% of its production for use in furniture manufacturing.
• The company faces significant labor shortages due to a lack of technical skills and graduates from Namibian educational institutions, forcing the firm to rely on foreign labor. This is further complicated by the Ministry of Home Affairs, where obtaining a work permit for foreign staff can take two months or longer.
• Administrative delays in issuing export permits from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, combined with the time required for South African customers to obtain import permits, result in a loss of two weeks of business activity.
• A critical financial burden is the requirement for Nakara to prepay VAT on behalf of medium-sized South African customers who lack a "Deferred VAT Account". Although claimable, the funds are only available after approximately two months, which disrupts cash flow and forces the company to acquire additional costly capital to maintain operations.
• Nakara reports a lack of progress in resolving these barriers despite engaging with policymakers and lodging complaints with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Trade and Industry five years prior. The company notes that the VAT issue requires government-to-government resolution and that market access remains a problem in SADC countries other than South Africa.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2012). Nakara. https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/nakara-cc/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Nakara. 2012. https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/nakara-cc/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Nakara |date=24 July 2012 |url=https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/nakara-cc/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2012nakara, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Nakara}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2012}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/nakara-cc/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }