Development Bank sets new rules on SME loans

THE Development Bank of Namibia will soon be able to grant loans to small and medium enterprises.

This follows Cabinet approval last week of the rules governing the operation of the bank’s Special Development Fund. The purpose of the fund is to promote and support development projects and schemes, including small-scale projects and private ventures.The Development Bank’s General Manager for the Special Development Fund, Penny Akwenye, said that loans valued between N$450 000 and N$3 million would be granted for trade, short-term or bridging finance.The rules endorsed by Cabinet provide for the governance of funding, eligibility and investment philosophy as well as the management and administration of the fund.Akwenye said the bank would consider trade projects from a variety of sectors excluding farming, unless it involved value-addition to agronomic products.She said the exact sum of money available to the fund still had to be determined, and that the fund would be based on the number of projects the bank wanted to fund within a year.Recipients would have between a year and five years to repay loans, depending on the type and amount of finance granted.The fund will be run separately from the bank’s main financing options.The purpose of the fund is to promote and support development projects and schemes, including small-scale projects and private ventures.The Development Bank’s General Manager for the Special Development Fund, Penny Akwenye, said that loans valued between N$450 000 and N$3 million would be granted for trade, short-term or bridging finance.The rules endorsed by Cabinet provide for the governance of funding, eligibility and investment philosophy as well as the management and administration of the fund.Akwenye said the bank would consider trade projects from a variety of sectors excluding farming, unless it involved value-addition to agronomic products.She said the exact sum of money available to the fund still had to be determined, and that the fund would be based on the number of projects the bank wanted to fund within a year.Recipients would have between a year and five years to repay loans, depending on the type and amount of finance granted.The fund will be run separately from the bank’s main financing options.