The Board of Directors for the Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Robert Eiman as the Bank’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective 1 July 2026.

Mr Eiman succeeds Dr Raphael Karuaihe, who retiredon 31 March 2026, following his dedicated service and contribution to the Bank. In the interim, the Board has appointed the Chief Financial Officer, Mr Abel Akayombokwa, as Acting CEO until 30 June 2026.

Mr Eiman is a seasoned Executive with extensive experience across Micro Finance, Commercial, Corporate Banking and Development Finance. Furthermore, Mr Eiman has experience in preparing, evaluating and structuring larger deals in various industries as well as strategy development and implementation. Mr Eiman holds a Master of Business Administration from the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics in the Netherlands.

He joins Agribank from Nampost Financial Brokers (POSTFIN), where he served as CEO,and has previously held senior positions at the Development Bank of Namibia and First National Bank of Namibia, wherehe has demonstrated his skills in transformational leadership, strategic orientation, credit risk management, market analysis, banking operations, and client service management, among others.

The Board welcomes Mr Eiman and look forward to leveraging his leadership skills, strategic insights, and financial industry knowledge to lead the Bank into its next phase of growth, sustainability, and impact. Mr Eiman’s appointment comes at a pivotal time when the Bank is embarking on an organisational transformation to respond to challenges of complex economic dynamics, climate change, low agriculture productivity and fragmented agriculture value chains.

Therefore, the Board is confident that he will lead the Bank through its transformation phase and beyond, while navigating the balance between its developmental mandate and long-term financial sustainability. Additionally, the Board would like to extend its sincere appreciation to Dr Karuaihe, the outgoing CEO, for his leadership, dedicated service and valuable contribution to the Bank’s progress during his tenure.

When informed about his appointment, Mr Eiman demonstrated optimism on the role ahead indicating that, “I am honoured to serve in this role and look forward to building on the foundation laid by my predecessors, while steering the Bank towards long-term sustainable growth and contributing to the transformation of the agricultural sector”.
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Issued by:
Mr Josephat Mwatotele
Board Chairperson
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1. Agribank has announced the commencement of the implementation phase of its Arrears Relief Programme, starting 2 February 2026. The programme, launched last year September, is aimed at assisting clients who have fallen behind on their loan repayments, while strengthening the Bank’s loan recovery efforts through an incentivised and supportive approach.

2. The programme is open to all Agribank clients whose accounts are in pre-legal or legal status. Participating clients will benefit from a 100% write-off of penalty interest, subject to conditions. Pre-legal clients are required to pay at least 20% of their arrear balance (loan instalment and interest portion, excluding penalty interest), while legal clients must pay at least 25% of their arrear balance under the same terms. Additional benefits include de-listing from the credit bureau, where applicable, voluntary advisory services tailored to client needs, and, where suitable, opportunities for project publicity and marketing support.

3. Once the required portion of the arrears is paid, the remaining arrear balance will be ring-fenced, and no further interest will be charged on that amount. The ring-fenced balance may be repaid for a period of up to 60 months, through equal monthly, quarterly, or bi-annual instalments. Clients will sign an addendum to the loan agreement to formalise the arrangement, and where legal actions have already been instituted, the repayment arrangement will be signed as an Order of Court. Clients must, however, continue to service all new and ongoing instalments as they fall due.

4. Failure to honour the agreed repayment arrangement will result in the reinstatement of penalty interest and continuation of recovery processes. Defaulting on any other loan obligations may also lead to the revocation of relief benefits. Relief under this programme is granted once per client, unless otherwise revised.

5. The application window will run for six months from 2 February until 31 August 2026, and interested clients are advised to visit their nearest Agribank offices to apply within this period.

6. Beyond the Arrears Relief Programme, Agribank continues to cushion farmers against challenges such as drought through climate responsive financing products, provision of advisory services to improve productivity, and collaboration with Government and other stakeholders on relief measures as and when required. These efforts aim to sustain farmers during difficult periods while ensuring sustainability of the Bank’s loan book.

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