The Namibia Trade Forum (NTF) and Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) recently signed an agreement under which the NTF will assist export-oriented enterprises and start-ups with applying for DBN financing.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will also cover enterprises engaged in internal trade.

A joint press release issued on Tuesday said the MoU allows Namibia to accelerate its industrialisation agenda and diversify its export market at a time when Namibia and the African continent are working towards greater integration.

Deputy Director of International Trade and Commerce in the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade, Ndiitah Nghipondoka-Robiati, at the signing of the MoU said because SMEs are the backbone of most economies and a key source of economic growth, dynamism and flexibility, they must participate in programmes that foster entrepreneurial thinking and enhance entrepreneurship.

“Collaboration such as the NTF-DBN MoU, as well as commitment and consistency, are the factors that will enable SMEs to become highly independent and increase their survival rate,” Robiati said.

According to NTF CEO Stacey Pinto, the collaboration is intended to strengthen SMEs’ applications for DBN.

She said she believes the NTF should be the first port of call for SMEs looking to export goods or services to African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA) countries.

DBN CEO Martin Inkumbi emphasised Namibia’s paradox of having an advanced enterprise financing and support ecosystem, but inefficient enterprise formation.

This inefficiency is characterised by poor performance and failure of new and existing businesses.

Inkumbi attributed the inefficiency to a lack of entrepreneurial skills, a limited demand for local goods and services, and a lack of coordination in the enterprise financing and support ecosystem.

The Memorandum of Understanding, he said, should serve as a model for coordination, with the ability to help finance manufacturing, food processing and agricultural infrastructure, with the goal of increasing local and AfCFTA trade.

Inkumbi cautioned that, while AfCFTA represents a potential boon for Namibian exporters, it also opens the door to imports, so Namibian SMEs and manufacturers must be competitive.

Source: Namibia Press News Agency