UNIDO ITPO Tokyo supported the online seminar “Partnering with DFIs for Africa’s Development – Session 3: Development Bank of Namibia (DBN)” organized by the Association of African Economy and Development Japan (AFRECO) on 26 November 2020.
Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), which was established in 2004 by the government, mobilizes public and private financial resources nationally and internationally to development projects.
Mr. Martin Inkumbi, Chief Executive Officer of DBN outlined its mandates and governance and emphasized that the first criteria to evaluate projects for loans is “Is such a project financially buyable?”, then the next question comes to “What is the development impact?” in their due diligence processes. DBN’s lending portfolio in line with the 5th National Development Plan (NDP5) focuses on manufacturing, transport and logistics, tourism & hospitality, and infrastructure (*). It also includes ring-fenced SME lending and transformative lending for women and youths under the age of 35.
(*) Agribank of Namibia has a specific mandate for investments in agriculture.
Ms. Hellen Amupolo, Acting Head, Investments, showcased projects which the DBN participated in, such as pioneering finance for independent power producer (IPP) for solar and wind farms, equity participation in establishment of a cement plant. In addition to these large projects, she explained that the bank annually holds “DBN Innovation Award” and a local company namely “Pulsar Electronics” won the pitch in 2019 with their business model for remote electricity meter management, which is currently assisted by the DBN for product development. For SMEs and youths, she introduced unique schemes such as a credit guarantee scheme for financially buyable projects by entrepreneurs who don’t have collateral, and skills-based finance for young entrepreneurs which doesn’t require collateral at application. Ms. Heike Scholtz, Head, Business Strategy, mentioned tourism and SMEs are more affected by COVID-19 and explained about government measures and relief to those who are affected.
The seminar was concluded by Mr. Inkumbi, CEO, by encouraging Japanese audience that not only large projects by the government, but also technologies and human capacity in the private sector are essential factors for value addition which he believes are areas of Japanese expertise.
*Presentation materials are available on AFRECO’s website.
Outline
| Date/Time: | 26 November 2020 at 15:00 – 16:30 *On a live stream |
| Organizer: | The Association of African Economy and Development Japan (AFRECO) |
| Co-organizer: | Southern African Development Community – Development Finance Resources Center (SADC-DFRC) |
| Supporters: | UNIDO ITPO Tokyo, JETRO, and JICA |
| Language: | English |
| Fee: | Free of charge |
Programme
| 15:00 | General and brief explanation about DBN |
| Mr. Martin Inkumbi, Chief Executive Officer, DBN | |
| 15:15 | Brief presentation of previous projects/programmes that the DFI financed |
| Ms. Hellen Amupolo, Acting Head, Investments, DBN | |
| 15:35 | Policies and institutions for COVID-19 of the Republic of Namibia |
| Ms. Heike Scholtz, Head, Business Strategy, DBN | |
| 15:40 | Projects/programmes DBN is planning to implement during the COVID- 19 crisis and what partnerships should be promoted together with Japan |
| Ms. Heike Scholtz, Head, Business Strategy, DBN | |
| 15:50 | Projects/programmes DBN is planning to implement after the COVID-19 crisis and what partnerships should be promoted together with Japan |
| Ms. Heike Scholtz, Head, Business Strategy, DBN | |
| 16:05 | Q&A |
| <Moderators> Mr. Tetsuya Fukunaga, Director, AFRECO Ms. Heike Scholtz, Head, Business Strategy, DBN Mr. Kogan Pillay, Head, PPP Unit, SADC-DFRC |
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Contact for inquiries
The Association of African Economy and Development Japan (AFRECO)
Tel: 03-3511-8911
E-mail: info@afreco.jp
