Public Relations

Development Bank of Namibia Announces Appointment of Board of Directors

03/12/2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Windhoek – The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Board of Directors, effective 1 January 2025. Appointed by the Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, Honourable Ipumbu Shiimi, in line with the Public Enterprise Governance Act No. 1 of 2019 (PEGA), the appointments underscore confidence in the Board’s leadership and its dedication to advancing DBN’s vision of driving sustainable economic development.

Leading the new Board is Evangelina Nailenge as Chairperson, supported by Willy Mertens as Deputy Chairperson. Patience Kanalelo and Marsorry Ickua will serve as Board members, alongside Dr John Steytler, who also serves as an Ex Officio member in his capacity as DBN CEO. The Board’s term will run until 31 December 2027.

Reflecting on her appointment, Nailenge expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to lead the Board during this critical period: "I am deeply honoured by the confidence bestowed in me to chair the Board of the Development Bank of Namibia for the next three years. Together with my fellow Board members, we will ensure that DBN’s Five-Year Strategic Plan translates into impactful results that benefit the Namibian economy and its people,” she said.

The Board is vested with comprehensive fiduciary powers to govern a development institution of DBN’s stature. The appointed members bring a wealth of expertise from diverse industries, and their collective leadership will steer DBN's strategic direction in fulfilling its mandate.

Commenting on the appointments, Dr John Steytler, DBN CEO, said, “With the Board’s continued stewardship, I am confident that DBN will expand its reach and deepen its impact, driving transformational change in Namibia’s economic landscape. Their appointment ensures continuity in our efforts to support economic growth and create opportunities for all Namibians."

Notably, the four members of the Board, Nailenge, Mertens, Kanalelo, and Ickua have been retained from the previous term. Their reappointment underscores the confidence in their collective expertise, leadership, and commitment to advancing Namibia’s economic development agenda.

… ENDS

In the Picture: Evangelina Nailenge: Board of Directors Chairperson

For further information, please contact:
Jerome Mutumba
Chief Marketing & Corporate Affairs

The following articles and statements are provided for public information and copyright vests in the Development Bank of Namibia. For permission to use these items verbatim, or as excerpts, or for photographic permissions, please contact the Corporate Communications and Stakeholder Relationships Specialist on 061 290 8000.

The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) has become aware of some public sentiments in relation to the need for broader appreciation of the Bank settlement policy in an event of default. Against that backdrop, the Bank deems it necessary to provide assurance that it conducts its operations within approved policy frameworks and in line with relevant legal instruments.

The Bank has robust and well-developed policies that inform credit decisions. All DBN clients, regardless of their political or socio-economic standing are subjected to similar policies at loan application and collection in an event of default.

When an enterprise financed by the Bank is proven insolvent and unable to repay the debt, the Bank initiates measures to recover the loan. Prior to settlement, the Bank initiates measures that preserve the enterprise, which include repayment holidays on the entire debt, interest repayment holidays, extension of the duration of loans, and possible conversion of debt to equity on case-by-case basis.

The Bank makes decisions to provide finance based on the apparent sustainability of business plans and cashflow projections, without reference to the occupation or status of the applicant. All decisions, including the decision to pursue a settlement, are taken within clearly defined parameters and are subject to scrutiny and ratification by committees.

It is against Bank policy to discuss client-related matters in public and thus the Bank will not be drawn into discussions on confidential client matters.

The Bank encourages reporting of irregularities and incidents of fraud, corruption, nepotism, theft of intellectual property and / or any other misuse of its capital. Should there be any suspicion or proof of such abuses, the Bank urges the public to report the incident to outsourced independent investigation.

Details of the reporting mechanism can be found here...

Guide to DBN New Digital Onboarding Experience

The Development Bank of Namibia has partnered with Identity Today, a leading RegTech company specializing in digital onboarding and automated compliance solutions.

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Through this collaboration, DBN clients can now enjoy a seamless onboarding process that meets all Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) requirements, in compliance with Namibia’s Financial Intelligence Act, 2012, and the Financial Intelligence Amendment Act, 2023.

Click the link below for a step-by-step guide and start your onboarding process.

The following articles and statements are provided for public information and copyright vests in the Development Bank of Namibia. For permission to use these items verbatim, or as excerpts, or for photographic permissions, please contact the Corporate Communications and Stakeholder Relationships Specialist on 061 290 8000.

Above: an architectural rendering of the Oshana Gymnasium.

Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) has announced that it has provided N$72.9 million in finance for two new Gymnasium private schools. One will be located in Ongwediva, Oshana. The other will be located in Walvis Bay, Erongo.

The Bank has developed a track record of finance for schools, health facilities and environmentally beneficial initiatives such as recycling.

Talking about the development benefits of the schools, DBN CEO Martin Inkumbi mentioned that in addition to the Bank’s commitment to finance larger social enterprises, the schools will provide 160 temporal employment opportunities during construction and several permanent jobs thereafter.

He added that the schools would also have their needs fulfilled by regional and national SMEs.

He went on to elaborate on specific regional benefits.

Describing the impact for Oshana, Inkumbi expressed hope that the school would instil in learners a love and appreciation of the region and its potential. This he hoped would lead them to complete their educations and return to Oshana to participate in and grow the regional economy.

He added that the availability of additional places in private sector schools would make Oshana an attractive residential locality for parents of school-going children, thereby adding to the pool of professionals and managers, participating in growing the regional economy of Oshana.

On the topic of impact for Erongo, Inkumbi said Walvis Bay will become a hub for Namibia’s future energy and industries. This will require engineers, managers, scientists, technicians, project planners and leaders. By shaping young minds, the Walvis Gymnasium will become part of the future of Erongo and Namibia.

He went on to challenge the Gymnasiums to extend their influence in their regions, by sharing knowledge and best educational practices with educators in the regions.

He also challenged the schools to spread the education to learners from lower income households by providing educational scholarships to gifted learners that ordinarily would not have the means to attend private schools.

Inkumbi said the Development Bank has recently inaugurated its Sustainable Finance Framework and added that in the near future the Bank will launch its first sustainability bond. This will represent an opportunity for investors to earn returns from finance for environmentally and socially beneficial enterprises.

The Gymnasiums in Oshana and Walvis Bay, he continued, are examples of the sort of projects that will benefit from the bond.

Inkumbi concluded that the Bank returns a portion of its earnings to provide schools that do not qualify for finance with the means to repair and improve their facilities as a part of its corporate social investment.

He gave the assurance that a portion of the Bank’s earnings allocated to CSI will add to the sum of benefits available to education.