Okahandja is a town in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia. It is located north of Windhoek on the B1 road. It was founded around 1800, by two local groups, the Herero and the Nama. A German pastor, Heinrich Schmelen, became the first European to visit the town in 1827. In 1844, two missionaries were permanently assigned to the town, and a church dates from this period. A military base was established in Okahandja in 1894, and it is this date that is officially recognized as the town's founding.

An open-air curio market attracts tourists, and the town serves as the administrative center for the Herero people. Willem Maherero, Jan Jonker, Hosea Kutako and Clemens Kapuuo are buried in the town. The National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) is today situated in Okahandja. NIED was created after independence as the institute from where a new national system of education was created, replacing the previous racist system of apartheid.