By Patience Makwele

New Technologies, a Windhoek-based tech firm, has filed a landmark N$1.3 billion lawsuit against the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG), accusing them of misappropriating a confidential innovation developed at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
 

At the heart of the dispute is a digital health invention known as the all-solutions station, a smart scanning and sanitisation device designed in 2020 to facilitate Covid-19 screening at public venues, including schools, churches, post offices, and pharmacies.
According to court documents, Eliaser Ndilunde, founder of New Technologies, the concept was shared with GIZ under a mutual understanding that the agency would assist with funding and rollout via WBCG, its designated Namibian partner. However, Ndilunde claims the invention was later implemented without his company’s involvement, effectively excluding the original developers from the project.
 

“We brought a solution during a time of national crisis, and instead of being supported, our innovation was taken and commercialised without our input,” Ndilunde said. A forensic actuarial report prepared by Actuary Consulting and reviewed by Confidente estimates that New Technologies suffered a financial loss of N$1.3 billion in potential revenue over five years. It further projects that, had the invention not allegedly been copied and commercialised without consent, the company could have distributed over 38,000 devices across the country. The analysis highlights substantial market potential for the all-solutions Station across both the public and private sectors. Full-scale deployment was envisioned in schools, health facilities and government offices, with widespread uptake also projected in the retail, banking, and corporate environments. From high schools and hospitals to banks and supermarkets, the device was expected to achieve near-universal coverage, particularly within state-run institutions. Forecasted revenue streams included sales of the device, maintenance services, extended warranties, and integrated digital advertising.
 

New Technologies argues that although the invention was not registered with the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA) at the time, due to Covid-19 restrictions, the concept was shared with the expectation of confidentiality.
The company maintains that the unauthorised implementation constitutes misappropriation of trade secrets.
In his response, WBCG Wellness Service manager, Edward Shivute questioned the renewed focus on the matter, stating: “Why should we respond to something that has become a court case?” 
 

He added that WBCG had already addressed the issue in 2021, stating that it is an old matter.
Shivute further commented on the financial claim at the centre of the lawsuit citing changes.
“A lot has changed, and the amount has also changed over time. At one point, it was equivalent to the tender value and was handled by GIZ.” Efforts to obtain comment from GIZ were unsuccessful at the time of going to print. Calls to GIZ Country Director Tobias Gerster went unanswered, and a text message seeking comment had not received a response by deadline. In a 2021 article published by Confidente on the same issue, then-acting GIZ Country Director Klemens Riha, who stood in for Gerster at the time, stated that he was “still in the process of getting to understand the matter fully” and was liaising with internal staff regarding the allegations