More small lending in 4th quarter

The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) approved loans totalling N$ 154.31 million in the last quarter of 2011. The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector received loans worth N$79.01 million, while the private sector received N$45.3 million. The public sector received N$ 30 million.  
Martin Inkumbi, DBN head of lending, said that the bulk of the financing went to SMEs as a result of an increase in applications for bridging finance.
“In terms of the sectoral distribution, education received the lion’s share, with 21.1% of total approvals, followed by wholesale, retail trade and repairs with 20% and financial intermediation with 19.4 %,” Inkumbi said.
The construction and transport sectors received 15.7% and 7.6% of the loans, respectively. The tourism sector received 1.5% with the health sector receiving the lowest with 0.6%.
Inkumbi said that the education sector received N$32 million for the construction of larger premises for Amazing Kids Private School in Windhoek. The school consists of a pre-primary school and also offers classes from grades one to eight.
Applications approved between October and December 2011 were representative of 12 of the country’s 13 regions.
“This indicates the bank’s reach and support to the development efforts initiated across the country. During the period, the central region received the bulk of approvals, followed by projects with a national impact, which is followed by projects in the Omusati region,” Inkumbi said.
The Khomas region received the bulk of the loans with 32.8% followed by the Omusati region with 12.3%. The Karas and Otjozondjupa received the lowest, with 1.4% and 1.3% respectively.
With the funding of various projects, DBN has contributed to the creation of 10 374 new jobs, 12 130 retained and 10,981 temporary jobs since its inception.