Businesses are reluctant to approach the Development Bank of Namibia branch in Rundu for funding, DBN senior business analyst Naemi Abed said on Wednesday.
Abed said this during a two-day stakeholder engagement which started Tuesday and was aimed at developing a five-year strategic plan for the Kavango East Region Farmers Union.
The senior business analyst did a presentation on finance for the agriculture sector and value addition in the Kavango East Region.
“I do not know whether we do not have enough business people in these two regions (Kavango East and West) or whether the business people are not encouraged enough to open the businesses they want to open,” she said.
Abed compared their Ongwediva office to the Rundu office, saying loan applications at the Ongwediva office far exceed those in Rundu, despite DBN reaching out to businesses in both areas.
Businesses in Rundu need more encouragement and should step away from negativity, she added.
“We listen too much to word on the street that it’s not easy to get funding from DBN. I have not even seen 90 per cent of the faces sitting here in my office, just to consult or find out about the different types of financing the bank offers,” Abed stressed.
She encouraged the residents of the two regions to approach the office if they want to start doing business.
DBN opened their office in Rundu in 2019. It caters for the Kavango East, West and Zambezi regions.
Abed said the key areas they have covered thus far are infrastructure, manufacturing, education and retail.
Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairperson in the Kavango East Region, Geraldoh Illarious, said businesses are reluctant to use DBN because the criteria for collateral is the same as that for businesses in regions such as Khomas.
Illarius said businesses in these two regions are also challenged with keeping track of their finances as there are no accounting firms to assist them.
Other topics covered during the meeting included the master plan for the Kavango East road network to enhance the movement of agricultural products, the distribution of MTC network towers, and charcoal and timber harvesting and marketing in communal areas.
Source: Namibia Press News Agency