And the winners are…

Thursday evening, 20 September, the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) held the first Good Business Award to recognise exemplary clients. A judging panel screened and rated the entrants based on various key developmental issues, such as the number of jobs created or retained, managerial capacity, business records, adherence to good governance practice and Previously Disadvantaged Namibian ownership, among others.
“By recognising enterprises’ efforts to create lasting jobs and income, adopt good governance practices, and make a positive contribution to Namibia’s economic landscape, the Award shows how far Namibian businesses have come and what their impact is on the economy,” said the keynote speaker Hon Calle Schlettwein, Deputy Minister of Finance.
Awards were given in the Award categories of SME, Large Enterprise and Sustainability (clients who paid off their loans before the end of the loan term).
The winner in the SME category is Karakulia Weavers, a karakul carpet manufacturing company based in Swakopmund. The runner-up is Enviro-fill. It received a contract from the City of Windhoek in 2006, to operate and manage the Kupferberg Landfill for ten years.
The winner in the Larger Enterprises category is the International University of Management (IUM), a private tertiary education institution, which operates in Windhoek, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Ongwediva. The runner-up is Armstrong Construction, a brick manufacturing plant, located in the Kapako Constituency, ten kilometres outside Rundu.
The winner in the Sustainability category is Nampost, through their partnership with Smartswitch, offering affordable and modern financial services to low income groups and the local rural population, with 122 branches nationwide. Nampost Savings Bank had approximately160,000 account holders on its old savings books. The Savings Bank introduced the smart card in 2006 and today has 450,000 accounts. The runner up is Cenored, a regional electricity distribution company based in Otjiwarongo.