
New SME fund from Bidvest

From the left are Sebby Kankondi, CEO of Bidvest Namibia Holdings, Hon Tjekero Tweya, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Theo Mberirua, Director at Bidvest Namibia Commercial Holdings.
He said “At present, I am quite sure that the small and medium enterprise contribution has increased, due to the fact that numerous interventions have been made to facilitate their success.” Tweya believes that the fund can grow substantially to N$80 million per annum, based solely on the positive effect the multiplier will have on the fund. He said, “The fund can be turned around four times a year and because of the multiplier effect it could equate to a N$80 million facility per year.” Bidvest Namibia Holdings CEO Sebby Kankondi described the fund as a two-dimensional growth mechanism. He said, “Bidvest Namibia remains committed to offering high quality products and services that stimulate mutual benefits for growth.” The Bidvest Namibia Enterprise Development fund will be administered by the Namibia Procurement Fund’s (NamProfund) administrators, and Business Financial Solutions (BFS). Prospective small and medium enterprises are urged to apply for funding. To qualify, SMEs must produce a tender contract that was awarded to them by a large organisation. A further condition is that SMEs must use the loan to buy the supplies needed for the tender from any of the participating Bidvest Namibia entities. The participating entities include Waltons Namibia, Voltex Namibia, Bidvest Namibia Steiner, Kolok Namibia, Konica Minolta and Cecil Nurse.