Credit Guarantee Scheme

The Credit Guarantee Scheme for SMEs provides collateral cover of 60% for qualifying SMEs applying for finance from participating commercial finance institutions.

Commercial finance institutions require the security of collateral to ensure that their capital is preserved in the event of an SME being unable to repay their loans. By insuring credit granted to qualifying SMEs, the Scheme substantially reduces the collateral requirement for qualifying SMEs.

SMEs will have to apply for business loans at participating financial institutions. Upon being assessed as bankable and only lacking collateral, the SME can be considered for collateral cover of 60% of the principal loan amount.

The scheme is available from

• First National Bank of Namibia (FNB), and
• Standard Bank of Namibia.

More financial institutions are expected to adopt the Credit Guarantee Scheme in the near future, once they have more fully considered their participation in the scheme.

The scheme is not offered through DBN, as the Bank already offers relaxed collateral requirements, and a wider spread of financial institutions offering the scheme will enable the smart partnership to reach more SMEs.

The scheme is underwritten by NASRIA Ltd., a key partner for the participating financial institutions while DBN provides expert support during the adjudication of claims.