Lesotho is Open for Business: LNDC’s Advocate Molise Ramaili Makes Strong Investment Pitch at Expo 2025 Osaka

Advocate Molise Ramaili, Acting CEO of the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC), has delivered a powerful call to global investors, declaring that Lesotho is open for business. Speaking at the Lesotho Business Forum during Expo 2025 Osaka, Ramaili positioned the mountain kingdom as a rising destination for sustainable investment across key economic sectors.

With a clear and confident message, Advocate Ramaili highlighted Lesotho’s competitive edge in attracting international partners. “Lesotho offers a unique combination of opportunity, access, and stability,” he said, addressing an audience of global business leaders and development stakeholders. “We are inviting the world to invest in our people, our resources, and our future.”

He outlined four major sectors ripe for investment:

• Manufacturing: With a growing textile and apparel industry and established export channels to the United States under AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act) and to the EU under the EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement), Lesotho’s industrial base is ready to scale.
• Agriculture: From commercial horticulture to agribusiness value chains, Lesotho’s fertile highlands and expanding irrigation systems offer untapped potential for both local and export-oriented farming.
• Renewable Energy: With abundant water resources and high solar irradiation, Lesotho is well-positioned for hydro and solar energy investments that can power both domestic consumption and regional energy markets.
• Tourism: Rich in natural beauty and cultural heritage, Lesotho’s rugged landscapes and warm hospitality offer a niche tourism market for eco and adventure travel investors.

Ramaili emphasized that Lesotho’s strategic location—landlocked but bordered entirely by South Africa—grants investors easy access to regional markets in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the broader SADC region. This proximity, combined with a stable political climate and investor-friendly policies, enhances the country’s appeal.

“Our workforce is young, trainable, and ambitious,” he noted. “We are reforming our business environment, improving infrastructure, and streamlining regulatory processes to make investment in Lesotho smooth, predictable, and profitable.”

The Lesotho Business Forum at Expo 2025 Osaka is part of a larger effort by the Government of Lesotho to position the country as a strategic partner for global investment, aligned with the nation’s long-term development blueprint, Vision 2050. Through public-private partnerships, infrastructure upgrades, and targeted incentives, Lesotho is working to become a preferred investment hub in Southern Africa.

As the world looks toward sustainable, inclusive growth in a rapidly changing global economy, Lesotho’s message is clear: the door is open, the opportunities are real, and the time to invest is now.