Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) has announced that an independent fund will be set up to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) following the demise of the SME bank.
This was revealed at a press conference held by the NIPDB executive while unpacking the public enterprises 24-month policy. The NIPDB announced that the Harambee Prosperity Plan II, under the Economic Advancement pillar, promises a holistic MSME fund and as such, the date to set up the fund has been fast-tracked to 22 June 2022.
“We are playing a coordinating role by involving the private sector to ensure that MSMEs have funding and is up and running. Access to funds is a big challenge. For example, the credit guarantee scheme of N$500 million meant for the Covid-19 relief has seen a very slow uptake. The NIPDB is working with the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) and other partners with regard to lending challenges faced by MSMEs,” said Dino Ballotti, MSME Executive at NIPDB.
Also speaking at the press briefing, Nangula Uaandja, the NIPDB CEO, stated that the investment board aims to increase FDI inflows by N$300 million over a 24-month period.
When asked whether or not the NIPDB is not just another public enterprise with duplicate mandates of many other SOEs, agencies and ministries, Uaandja admitted that some of the board’s mandates are closely linked to the Ministry of Trade and Industrialization, but that the NIPDB mostly works on attracting investments.
“I believe we have received support from all institutions. We are not usurping anyone’s powers, as our mandate is purely to attract investment. As a Namibian government, we want to serve the investor as one and coordinate our efforts,” Uaandja explained.
Queried on the N$20 billion investment committed by investors at the Economic Growth Summit, Uaandja noted that the board will follow up on the commitments made.
“The High-Level Panel on the Economy is different to this board. It involved a selected number of volunteers, which consisted of an advisory board. We will follow up on the commitments. I have physically and virtually met with those investors, and some of them find the Procurement Act challenging, with some big projects not taking off due to dis-jointed processes. Most of the commitments from the private sector have, however, come through such as Gondwana and O&L, with both entities investing more than they had committed. The Ongos Valley was also birthed there. We will put statistics together and report on the next quarter on the value of investments and what job opportunities this can yield,” Uaandja concluded.
