Agribank launched the women and youth loan scheme in Windhoek yesterday, with relaxed conditions to encourage participation and enhanced financial inclusion. The majority of women are unable to access affordable financing for farming purposes, while current financing for the youth is not at an optimal level, thus the Agibank women and youth scheme is flexible in that it provides relaxed conditions for funding. The purpose of the scheme is to promote financial inclusion, economic empowerment, employment creation as well as to stimulate Namibia’s econonmic growth. Eligible candidates that are set to benefit from this scheme are women and young Namibians or permanent residents aged between 18 and 35 years. The entry age is capped at 18 years and in case of partnerships, 80% of partners should be between the age of 18 to 35 years in order to qualify. In case of limited companies, 80% of the directors are required to be between the same age threshold, while the age limit for women as well as professionals in the agriculture and related fields is not limited.

Other requirements of this scheme include business registration, licenses or permits as well as certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles of association and identification documents for all the directors. New and existing businesses are eligible, subject to financial viability and development impact. The target group can benefit from all Agribank loan products with the exception of debt take-over and debt consolidation, but preference will be given to climate resilient projects, agro-processing, poultry and intensive farming projects.

Speaking at the launch of this scheme, the Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Technology (MICT), Hon. Emma Theofelus commended Agribank for intiating the women and youth scheme noting that these financial solutions are developmental in nature and government as the shareholder of Agribank is pleased with the launch of this scheme. “It’s pleasing to know that Agribank has taken a bold step to encourage women and youth by designing a scheme that furthers the objectives of financial inclusion as you all are aware that agriculture is the backbone of our economy and source of sustenance of many livelihood in Namibia,” she said. She therefore urged women and youth to utilize this opportunity provided by Agribank to empower themselves and become succesful agripreneurs. “Let’s show our elders that we too can make a difference and that we can take up farming as a business, not only to sustain ourselves but contribute to the national food security as well,” she concluded. The product launch was officiated by MICT deputy minister Hon. Theofelus, and was attended by Agribank Chairperson Mr Micheal Iyambo, Management in the Bank as well as key stakeholders in the industry, with live performance by award winning Namibian artists Gazza, Adora and Suzy Eises.

Issued by:
Rino Muranda
Manager: Marketing and Communication

For enquiries, kindly contact the Marketing and Communication Division at:
Tel.: 061 2074332
Fax: 061 2074206 Email: info@agribank.com.na

Agribank is arguably one of the most compliant public enterprise with an extremely well governed structure. This is the view of the Minister of Public Enterprises, Leon Jooste, who indicated that the quality of governance directly translates into credible performance of Agribank over the past few years. Jooste however cautioned the Bank not to compromise its viability, as it has a strong developmental mandate. The minister was speaking at the Bank’s first ever virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Windhoek today.

Speaking at the same occasion, Finance Minister Ipumbu Shiimi, commended the Agribank Board and Management for making the Bank vibrant, stronger and dynamic over the past few years. The finance minister intimated that the Bank has done “extremely well” despite a difficult operating environment to show positive trends in interest income, collections and expense management”.Shiimi also commended the Bank for being one of the few public enterprises that produces annual reports and annual financial statements within the stipulated timeframes and obtaining an unqualfied audit opinion in two consecutive financial years.

Meanwhile, the finance minister has urged the Bank to take quick, decisive and deliberate action against farmers who neglect their financial obligations as it threatens the liquidity and financial sustainability of the Bank. The AGM was attended by the Ministers of Finance and Public Enterprises, Agribank Board and management as well as senior officials of the two ministries.

Issued by:

Rino Muranda
Manager: Marketing and Communication
For enquiries, kindly contact the Marketing and Communications Division at:
Tel.: 061 2074332/Fax.: 061 2074206

Agribank disbursed N$246 million of loans in the financial year ended 31 March 2020. Of this amount, more than N$21 million was paid exclusively to female clients, while N$52 million went to the youth (below 40 years of age). The bank also extended funding worth over N$15 million to communal farmers without collateral, while over 8-thousand farmers countrywide benefitted from training and mentorship interventions during the same period.

The Bank continues to deliver credible financial performance as its loan book grew by 11% to N$3.01 million in 2020 from N$2.8 million in 2019, interest income went up by 12.7% to N$243 million, while the operating expenses went up by only 4.2% from N$136.7 million in 2019 to N$142.5 million in 2020.

The Bank listed the implementation of loan process automation which delivers clear visibility on the application progress tracking that enforces accountability to improve turn around times as one of the key achievements during the past financial year. Other highlights include the collection of over N$323 million in arrears, while the Bank continues to feature amongst the top 25 postively communicating brands in the country.

Speaking at the virtual Annual General Meeting in Windhoek, Agribank’s Chief Executive Officer, Sakaria Nghikembua, noted that the Bank will continue to “preserve the business through securing sustainablesources of affordable loan book funding. We will ensure new business growth, maintain positive collections trajectory and prudently manage expenses while managing provisions for bad debt”. Our focus is to diverisfy the loan book for climate resilience and inclusivity by bringing onboard the youth, women and communal producers”.

We are also sourcing grant funding to expand the reach and depth of training and mentorship services, whilesustaining high performance environment. Continouos enhancement of the brand reputation, balancing mandate sustainability and shareholder as well as client expectations also remain high on the agenda.

The AGM was attended by the Ministers of Finance and Public Enterprises, Agribank Board and management as well as senior officials of the two ministries.

Issued by:

Rino Muranda
Manager: Marketing and Communication
For enquiries, kindly contact the Marketing and Communications Division at:
Tel.: 061 2074332/Fax.: 061 2074206