Agribank board of directors wants the bank’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Raphael Karuaihe to put special focus on business preservation, growth and financial sustainability to enable the bank to keep delivering on its mandate.
Karuaihe who assumed duties on 10 January 2022, was appointed in October last year replacing Sakaria Nghikembua.
The board vice-chairperson Dagmar Honsbein, in his welcoming statement availed to Nampa on Tuesday, said the board and staff place considerable trust in Karuaihe to carefully navigate the agricultural bank during the current trying times, and that the bank needs all hands on deck to mitigate challenges and risks to the agri-business environment, such as the protracted drought and the impact of Covid-19 outbreak on the agricultural sector.
‘Dr Karuaihe’s term coincides with the new five-year strategic plan of the bank, running 2022 to 2026, with a special focus on business preservation and growth, financial sustainability, product, and technological innovation. This is to enable the bank to continue delivering on its mandate of providing affordable and innovative agriculture financing solutions,’ said Honsbein.
Honsbein also said Karuaihe brings along a wealth of unique experience and knowledge to the CEO position as he spent many years in the financial service industry where he had advised institutional clients on investments and risk management. Prior to his appointment, Karuaihe worked as the Head of Commodities at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa since 2012 where he was responsible for overseeing agricultural and non-agricultural commodities within the capital markets division.
‘Dr Karuaihe holds a doctorate in Agricultural Economics from Washington State University in the USA and a Master of Business Administration in Banking and Investment Management from Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands. The board of directors and staff welcome and wish Dr Karuaihe well in his new role, we assure him of our impartial support in the execution of his executive responsibilities. We are certain that he will take the bank to the next trajectory,’ stated Honsbein.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
