Namibia Trade Forum, DBN pen MoU to strengthen domestic trade
The Namibia Trade Forum (NTF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), to power domestic trade by enhancing domestic industrialisation, production, and eventually market access, recently.
Chief Executive of NTF, Stacey Pinto said this collaboration will provide SMEs with increased opportunities for loan approval, entering the market space, and most importantly becoming export-ready, thus allowing Namibia to participate in the AfCFTA agreement.
The International Trade and Commerce Deputy Director at the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade, Ndiitah Nghipondoka-Robiati said at a time when Namibia and the African continent are working towards greater integration, this MoU aims to improve and strengthen the SME industries allows Namibia to accelerate its industrialisation agenda and diversify the export market.
Chief Executive of DBN, Martin Inkumbi highlighted that Namibia faces a paradox of a highly developed enterprise financing and support ecosystem yet inefficient enterprise formation.
“This inefficiency is characterized by the substandard performance of new and existing enterprises, as well as their failure. Therefore this MoU signed between DBN and NTF must become a model for coordination with the ability to assist finance for manufacturing, stimulate food processing, and agriculture infrastructure with the basis for local and intra-Africa trade, Now let us go to work,” he added.
The manager for SME at DBN, Heinrich Tsauseb appreciated the work that NTF and DBN are doing and embraced the collaborations as they hope to capitalize on the evident potential of the Namibian SME ecosystem.
