Africa-Press – Namibia. Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) has identified 6 000 of its MTC Maris clients who qualify to receive a portion of a N$2-million offering through a newly launched loan feature.
Yesterday MTC, in partnership with Letshego, launched the Taamba Maris Instant Loan which offers MTC Maris clients loans ranging from N$100 to N$1 500.
This new offering places the company in the non-banking financial institutions sector that is worth N$474.1 billion.
The loans are being offered with interest fees charged once-off depending on the loan term –14% for seven days, 18% for 14 days, and 22% for 30 days.
This is considered a relief compared to the 30% charged by registered microlenders and even more by shark loans.
Speaking at the launch, Letshego Micro Financial Services chief executive Melvin Angula yesterday said the target market are clients who are unbanked and do not qualify for loans in the mainstream financial sector.
This may be due to a lack of collateral or formal employment making it hard to provide a payslip which is usually required when loaning from banks or cash loans.
“Our target market is those earning between N$2 500 to N$6 500 including the ladies that sell vegetables on the street,” said Angula.
He added that Letshego will be providing the N$2 million and will be responsible for assessing the credit worthiness of clients.
Meanwhile, MTC will provide the clientele and the platforms for people to apply for the loans.
MTC Maris has over 470 000 registered customers.
The loan is not yet available to everyone and will be limited to 6 000 pre-selected clients based on their transaction history with MTC. This is to allow for a controlled study before making the loan available to all MTC Maris clients.
Apart from this new loan offering, MTC also introduced Taamba airtime and data in 2020. This feature allows MTC clients to buy data and airtime on credit.
MTC Maris general manager Kayembe Ilunga yesterday said the new product is a way to include those who have been left out of the financial system.
“This product is more than just a technological innovation; it is a bridge to opportunity. We are here to serve the unbanked and underbanked population who feel and are excluded,” said Ilunga.
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