The NSX is only open on weekdays, and trades continuously from 09:00 to 17:00 (WAT), excluding public holidays.

[1] The stock exchange operates under a license from the Namibian non-banking financial regulator NAMFISA.

It opened at the start of the 1900s as a result of the diamond rush, which brought hundreds of prospectors to the desert, who then built settlements in the area.

After a few years, the old exchange closed when the diamond rush ended and there were no more business opportunities.

The government gave the idea the go ahead and full legislative support,[2] while funding came from 36 leading Namibian businesses, representing the full cross-section of interested parties in developing capital markets, who became founder members by donating N$10,000 each to act as start-up capital for the first three years of the exchange.