Onguvi — Bank of Namibia's AI/RPA Virtual Bot for Government Payment Processing

The Bank of Namibia deployed a virtual bot named Onguvi (Otjiherero for "Eagle") to perform robotic process automation on government contractor payment processing through an internet-based portal, replacing officials' previous manual, paper-based filing process.

The bank says the technology "drastically reduced the processing time for government payment transactions," with one account citing a drop from 30 minutes to two minutes and a companion report from the same outlet citing a drop from over a day to under two minutes — an inconsistency in the bank's own reporting that has not been reconciled. Cost savings are similarly reported as either N$6 million or N$7 million depending on the article.

The initiative sits under the Bank's broader AI and Robotics Accelerator (AIRA), launched 5 November 2024 in partnership with the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), which also underpins new BSc and Honours degree programmes in AI.

No independent audit of the cited figures was found, and reporting on the automation programme itself flags real risks: difficult integration with legacy systems, growing cybersecurity exposure, workforce skill gaps, and worker concern about job displacement, without concrete displacement numbers being published.

Read the full analysis: https://www.namibian.com.na/bon-saves-n6m-by-using-ai/