Africa-Press – Namibia. IN a pioneering move, the Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank) has introduced a lending facility primarily targeted to benefit the unemployed, who will be asked to use either their farming equipment or land as collateral.
According to a statement issued by the bank’s public relations officer, Fillemon Nangonya, this lending facility falls under the women and youth loan scheme, which was specifically developed to benefit women, young people, and agricultural professionals.
The women and youth scheme is different from the bank’s conventional funding as it offers distinct terms and conditions. These terms and conditions include the provision of farming equipment or land being used as collateral.
During the 2020/21 financial year, Agribank disbursed loans worth N$43 million to women, while another N$38,7 million went to young people, or clients under 40 years old.
“As a short-term loan, the bank requires no collateral for the new facility for clients who do not have fixed properties or have limited collateral scope on their fixed properties,” the statement said.
In addition, the special loan option was designed to clear the barrier limiting access to finance due to a lack of collateral, especially among the unemployed members of the community.
“Similarly, women and the youth who have fixed properties may have limited collateral scope on their properties and experience challenges in accessing finance.
“Therefore, in addressing the above challenges, the bank has a cash-flow lending option under the women and youth loan scheme. Clients applying under this option are required to provide a valid off-take/supply agreement based on the project’s cash-flow projections.
“This agreement is a commitment between the farmer and an off-taker (the buyer of the produce) whereby the farmer commits to supply the produce and the off-taker pledges to buy the produce from the farmer.
“Once funding is approved, a tripartite agreement is signed between the client, Agribank and the buyer.
“Through the tripartite agreement, the buyer pays the loan instalment to Agribank and then pays the difference to the client.
“Thus, members of the public, especially women, the youth, agricultural professionals who are interested in starting or expanding their agricultural projects, are encouraged to approach the bank for funding,” Nangonya said.
Agribank recently announced it has appointed celebrated capital markets expert Raphael Karuaihe as its incoming chief executive officer from January 2022.
He will be replacing Sackaria Nghikembua, who is said to have taken up new opportunities in the insurance sector. According to financial statements from 2019, Agribank has a loan book worth over N$2,7 billion, and a total asset value of slightly over N$3 billion. Financial statements for 2020 have been signed off, and the bank is yet to release them.
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