Africa-Press – Namibia. THE country’s economic policy can be executed more efficiently if cooperating agencies combine forces and seek synergies.
This was said by Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) chief executive officer Martin Inkumbi when the financial institution and the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) signed a memorandum of understanding to formalise their cooperation on Wednesday.
According to a statement issued by the bank yesterday, the two development agencies have cooperated in the past, notably when the DBN accompanied the NIPDB for its Know2Grow outreach programme, where the bank introduced its products to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) at 26 towns.
Inkumbi says the bank is a financing agency that is dependent on demand from potential borrowers.
“Although the DBN promotes its finance and associated services, promotion of economic participation through enterprise activity is the specialist field of the NIPDB,” he says.
The agreement, which focuses on SMEs, harnesses the capacity of both agencies to further develop the SME sector.
Inkumbi says there are multiple initiatives to develop enterprises, but they replicate the work performed by others, which could lead to mixed messages.
He says by combining forces and seeking synergies through cooperating agencies, the country’s economic policy can be executed more efficiently.
He cited the DBN’s implementation of the credit guarantee scheme, which provides a collateral guarantee of 60% to SMEs seeking finance from participating commercial banks, as an example.
He says the DBN recently struck an agreement with the Namibia Trade Forum acording to which Namibian enterprises will be assisted to further develop their products and services for the market.
Dino Ballotti, the NIPDB executive director responsible for micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) development, says innovation and acceleration, the largest contributors to economic activity in successful economies across the world, including Namibia, are MSMEs.
“MSMEs play a significant role in our financial development, yet they face real challenges in the form of a lack of information and financial support.
“Evidence demonstrates the scale and commercialisation of the sector can be achieved through the development of smart partnerships, such as this one, which will further drive the MSME agenda and ensure no one is left behind,” he says.
Ballotti says access to information and innovative practices which can scale enterprises remains fundamental where the excellent work of the DBN will only enhance the efforts of an inclusive, more competitive business environment.
Although the DBN provides registered enterprises with a minimum loan amount of N$150 000, or N$50 000 for young professionals and artisans, it provides apex micro-finance for on-lenders who provide enterprise loans in smaller amounts, the statement says.
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