Info Hub established to make financial support more accessible
The Financial Literacy Initiative (FLI) launched their Info Hub online database on Wednesday with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft Fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)GmbH on behalf of the German government. The Info Hub comprises of all available financing instruments for enterprises in the country.
FLI said that the Info Hub serves as a one-stop-shop to help enterprises identify appropriate financial support and therefore it is a key milestone on Namibia’s way to increase access to finance. They stated that it is a comprehensive, user friendly tool with individualized search criteria and therefore to make sure it is always up to date the FLI is continuously communication with all financial service providers in the country.
FLI also explained that in order to serve businesses without internet access an offline paper based version has been developed as well. FLI emphasized that many businesses in the country encounter a serious lack of information regarding access to finance and that it is difficult for them to get a comprehensive and up to date overview of all the funding opportunities available.
Hon. Natangue Ithete, Deputy Minister of Finance said the Info Hub strengthens the links between financial access and financial inclusion by bridging the information gap and promoting rational decision making on the part of entrepreneurs. “By accessing this virtual one-stop-shop and scrutinizing the series of available financial products offered by various service providers, the entrepreneurs will be able to ‘comparison shop-around’, acquaint themselves with the eligibility requirements and make appropriate decisions based on the best available information and for this reason it is significant and impact,” he said.
