Despite the introduction of the credit guarantee scheme for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) feels more can be done to relax collateral and security requirements against loans.
In August 2020, Finance Minister Iipumbu Shiimi announced the commencement of the scheme providing a collateral cover of 60 per cent to qualifying SMEs applying for finance from participating commercial financial institutions. The scheme allows for prospects and viable business plans but lacks the necessary collateral to obtain loans.
NCCI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Charity Mwiya in a statement issued on Tuesday said the government should explore with the financial services sector for more creative funding to ensure the relaxation of security requirements against loans to better place swift access to much-needed loans for working capital to fund asset and stock needs.
She also said government should ensure financial institutions’ funding mechanisms are tailored for the specific needs of Namibia’s enterprise sector and not just copy and paste products from South Africa.
“The chamber is equally concerned about a skewed investment promotion strategy of the government that favours foreign investors and ignores the importance of domestic investment,” Mwiya added.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
