NamPost receives N$2,9m

NAMIBIA and a German development bank have signed an agreement for 300 000 euros (N$2,9 million) under the Namibian-German financial sector development programme.

The money will go to the NamPost Savings Bank to improve access to financial services for micro, small and medium enterprises as well as for individual citizens. The specific agreement was for continued support of NamPost Savings Bank’s introduction of its countrywide internal payment and smart card system.”Namibia and the Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW) agreed to finance further training measures to strengthen the bank staff’s software skills in order to optimise service for the Bank’s clients,” said Stefan Hirche, Senior Project Manager at KfW.”Future investments of NamPost to increase service levels and products will receive further support from German financial co-operation.””For NamPost to fully extend its banking services to remote corners of Namibia, there is a need to train staff, especially when it comes to postal agencies and offices,” said Helmut Angula, Director General of the National Planning Commission, at the signing ceremony.”It is important to render services to rural areas and for NamPost to keep abreast of changes in information technology.The old savings book has been replaced with a smart card, which enables banking clients of NamPost to do payments electronically without the need to carry cash.”Other components of the financial sector development programme will be signed in the near future.Both sides renewed their pledge support for the establishment of a bank for micro and small enterprises and ordinary people that will offer a full range of affordable financial services like credit, savings and money transfer facilities.KfW will continue the successful business of ‘Koshi Yomuti’, a provider of finance for micro businesses in northern Namibia.In support of Namibian small and medium enterprises, KfW will soon provide a credit line of 2,5 million euros (approximately N$24,3 million) to the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN).This credit line may be increased up to 7,5 million euros (N$74 million) based on demand and institutional capacity at a later stage.Training measures to further strengthen DBN’s capacities in future are also on the cards.The specific agreement was for continued support of NamPost Savings Bank’s introduction of its countrywide internal payment and smart card system.”Namibia and the Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW) agreed to finance further training measures to strengthen the bank staff’s software skills in order to optimise service for the Bank’s clients,” said Stefan Hirche, Senior Project Manager at KfW.”Future investments of NamPost to increase service levels and products will receive further support from German financial co-operation.””For NamPost to fully extend its banking services to remote corners of Namibia, there is a need to train staff, especially when it comes to postal agencies and offices,” said Helmut Angula, Director General of the National Planning Commission, at the signing ceremony.”It is important to render services to rural areas and for NamPost to keep abreast of changes in information technology.The old savings book has been replaced with a smart card, which enables banking clients of NamPost to do payments electronically without the need to carry cash.”Other components of the financial sector development programme will be signed in the near future.Both sides renewed their pledge support for the establishment of a bank for micro and small enterprises and ordinary people that will offer a full range of affordable financial services like credit, savings and money transfer facilities.KfW will continue the successful business of ‘Koshi Yomuti’, a provider of finance for micro businesses in northern Namibia.In support of Namibian small and medium enterprises, KfW will soon provide a credit line of 2,5 million euros (approximately N$24,3 million) to the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN).This credit line may be increased up to 7,5 million euros (N$74 million) based on demand and institutional capacity at a later stage.Training measures to further strengthen DBN’s capacities in future are also on the cards.