Business - Windhoek Observer - Windhoek Observer

GIPF forecasts N$ 5,2 billion in pay out benefits

The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) forecasts to pay out N$ 5,2 billion in benefits and monthly annuities during the 2019/20 financial year, Chief Executive officer, David Nuyoma said.

“As at September 2019, the Fund forecasts to pay out N$ 5,2 billion in benefits and monthly annuities during the 2019/20 financial year, illustrating the enormous social and financial safety net it provides for Namibians from all walks of life,” he said.

“The GIPF has 102 194 members that it caters for and provides monthly incomes for 43 105 active annuitants.”

Nuyoma who was speaking to mark the funds 30th anniversary, said the GIPF had undergone a transformation process, with its focus remaining on safe guarding its members funds, which have grown significantly over the years.

“The assets of the Fund have since grown tremendously in the past three decades from N$844 070 million in 1990 to an astonishing N$118.2 Billion as at 31 August 2019. Of course, along this journey the Fund did experience challenges including the 2008 global economic meltdown, but the Fund withered the storms” said Nuyoma.

“Over the 30 years of growth, the mission of the GIPF has always been member-centric. The mission in 1989 was to “provide sustainable market-related pension benefits and excellent administrative services to our members and their dependents this mission has evolved over the years to “safeguard and grow the Fund for the benefit of its members.”

“Our members are the core of our business and this has seen our benefits to the members increase to Normal Retirement, Early Retirement, Resignation/Dismissal, Retrenchment, Disability benefit, Ill-Health Retirement, Death benefits and Funeral benefits to date.”

He said Fund continues to be prudently managed and self-administered in order to ensure that its members and their dependents receive market-related benefits, cost-effective and excellent administrative service through an increased national present.

“Since inception, GIPF’s objectives have been to ensure that the Fund remains fully funded and to consistently achieve high returns on investments. GIPF strives to be a leading and model pension fund globally and in order to achieve this, the Fund has over the years persistently worked towards increasing its National footprint. From a single floor office to the current 5 story building in Windhoek, which serves as a head office complemented by 10 Regional Offices in Rundu, Katima Mulilo, Outapi, Eenhaha, Oshakati, Ondangwa, Otjiwarongo, Swakopmund, Gobabis, Keetmanshoop and a satellite office in Windhoek at B1 City, to cater to its growing members,’’ said Nuyoma.

The Ministry of Finance has gazetted regulations lowering the deposit that second time homeowners can make on a mortgage bond as it seeks to spur the country’s property market which has struggled for over the past two years due to falling rentals and housing prices.

According to the regulations published in the government gazette, first time homeowners will still not be required to put up a deposit when they apply for a mortgage, while second home owners will now only be required to put down a 10 percent deposit for their home and 20 percent for a third home.

“These regulations only apply to residential properties with active mortgage bonds and outstanding balances, and residential properties which are not encumbered with a mortgage bond and without any outstanding balance are not subjected to these regulations,” Finance Minister Calle Schlettwein said.

“The purpose of these regulations is to set out the procedures for determining the loan-to-value restrictions when banking institutions extend mortgage loans to customers for the purchase of residential properties in Namibia.”

Previously, individuals who sought to buy a second property had to pay a 20 percent deposit on the property and 30 percent would be required on a third mortgage.

“If a banking institution extends an additional mortgage loan for an existing residential property already financed with a mortgage loan with an outstanding balance, and the additional mortgage loan is used to acquire an additional residential property with a different title deed, the additional mortgage loan is regarded as financing a second, third and subsequent residential property and is subjected to these regulations,” he said.

“A banking institution may not extend any credit or financing facility for fulfilment of down payment or to top up for the purchase of second, third and subsequent residential properties to fulfill the requirements of these regulations.”

The changes come just over two years after the apex bank announced that home buyers will have to put down larger deposits for second and subsequent properties in an effort to rein in speculative buying.

FirstRand Namibia Group Economist, Daniel Kavishe, early in the year forecasted that 2019 will prove to be a tough year for pricing in the property market, adding that new developments in the low-cost market will possibly take centre stage, dragging average house prices down.

In its June 2019 housing index, FNB, noted that the government plan to lower the deposit requirements, will do little to stimulate the country’s property sector, although it will provide much needed support to prospective homeowners.

The Bank of Namibia implemented the loan to value ratios (LTVs) as a way of reducing risks for the country’s banking sector a development which saw the country’s construction sector contracing by 18 percent in 2018 and by 25.6 percent the previous year when the bank introduced loan to value ratios for the first time.

The total mortgage loans of the banking sector as of 2018 stood at N$50,4 billion, which is about 52% of the total loan book of all the commercial banks.

Intensive farming on lesser land is the future

Hansie van der Merwe is an exceptional horticulture farmer who has demonstrated at a commercial level that a farmer does not necessarily need huge tracts of land to farm cost-effectively.

More than a decade ago, he left his job as a qualified Fitter and Turner at Nampower to start irrigation crop production when he bought a 100-hectare farm just outside Tsumeb. It was therefore no surprise that the Namibia Agronomic Board (NAB) crowned him as the 2019 Master Agronomist, a title reserved annually for outstanding horticulture producers and traders who display scientific innovation, risk diversification and ingenuity to produce vegetables and fruits for the local market.

Van der Merwe has proved that it is possible to farm successfully on a 100-hectare farm, rearing a limited number of livestock, while at the same time producing more value than a farmer with thousands of hectares of land. “I keep 387 sheep and 16 cows by choice. I don’t farm with goats because this land does not have bushes and shrubs to forage,” he told a delegation of Agribank during a recent farm visit. Since he is an Agribank client, Senior Manager of Sales, Sonja Molebugi, Otjiwarongo’s Branch Manager Wylie Upi and Sales Consultant Frans Nanuseb, visited his farm to learn first-hand about his operations, as part of the bank’s approach to constantly improve its loan facilities in line with actual production phases and evaluate the effectiveness of its finance.

The pragmatic Van der Merwe has optimized his diverse farming operations to precise evaluation and monitoring from seedlings, planting, harvesting, to storage and marketing his produce. He adopted an integrated farm management system that rely on his experience combined with his own inventions of customized tools and implements necessitated by knowledge of his type of soil and how various crops fare in their specific seasons.

Enhancing soil fertility naturally and minimizing input costs while increasing yield are some of Van der Merwe’s trait, constantly learning from his mistakes and regularly researching new techniques. He engages different methods for different crops, comprising of organic horticulture, applying minimal or harmless pesticide, using water sparingly and minimising weed growth. By using sustainable drip irrigation and crop rotation techniques to plant a variety of leafy greens, marrow, legumes, bulbs and root vegetables accordingly, Van der Merwe reduces a build-up of crop-specific pests and plant disease complications.

He employs more than 20 full-time workers and is ever expanding operations hoping to create more jobs in future. “In order to harvest better yields successfully, you need to provide your plants with quality water and nutrients. To do that I maintain a quality staff component and have reliable family support,” he said.

The current severe drought has not dampened Van der Merwe’s ingenuity as he relentlessly apply smart farming techniques by keeping his land productive. In fact sporadic low rainfall and prolonged dry seasons exacerbated by climate change, has vitalize the realization that sustainable irrigation is the only option for farmers to effectively produce food since rain-fed production is no longer reliable.

“In the current drought, a bale of grass costs N$120 and one cabbage costs N$20. The cabbage has more proteins for livestock than grass,” said Van der Merwe. When the market is flooded with a particular crop or if pests have spoiled some of the crops, he advises that a farmer should make an informed decision to turn losses into value. “If I cannot sell, for example, my cabbages or they are not marketable I turn them into animal feed, which I calculate against the value of buying same from retailers. Whenever I have excess supply, I trade and barter with neighbouring farmers as well and always consult them to ensure we do not duplicate crop productions.”

The main costly expense for commercial farmers is energy, and many have turned to sustainable solar power. Van der Merwe is weighing his options whether to approach Agribank to finance his solar power system enough to power all his operations on the farm. The farm also serve as a referral for best farming practices to numerous high school and tertiary students studying agriculture, as well as lecturers and researchers into horticulture and vermin.

NamPost and KfW Development Bank signed a concessional loan agreement of N$325.02 million (EUR 20.0 million) to provide micro-loans to micro-, small- and medium-sized companies and households in rural and remote areas via NamPost subsidiary PostFin.

The funds provided within the German development cooperation and backed by a sovereign guarantee, aim at extending the respective access to finance for up to 28.000 households and micro-, small- and medium enterprises, with a special focus on women and disadvantaged persons.

“NamPost with its main objective to contribute to poverty reduction and social development can now more easily fulfill its part ‘to leave no one behind,”, KfW Windhoek outgoing Office Director, Dr. Uwe Stoll said at the signing ceremony.

Gerlinde Sauer, Counsellor for Development Cooperation, highlighted the importance of access to finance for private sector development and employment creation in Namibia.

“The financial cooperation of KfW and NamPost is an important pillar of the German support to Namibia in the field of sustainable economic development as one of the focal areas of German development cooperation. It complements technical cooperation with MITSMED and MoF to support the implementation of “Growth at Home” and “SME-Financing” strategies respectively.”

NamPost CEO Festus Hangula expressed gratitude to KfW for the longstanding beneficial relationship between the two institutions within the German Development Corporation that lasts for more than 14 years.

“Much has already been achieved with the shared vision of both institutions to make a difference in many Namibian lives which aims at providing solutions to the challenges of the future. The funding would provide PostFin additional leeway to further develop and refine models and options that would assist in growing the PostFin’s portfolio of projects to address financial inclusion and responsible financing,” he said.

PostFin CEO Patrick Gardiner said that PostFin has a track record of providing micro-finance to Namibians, stretching back to PostFin’s inception in 2010 and specifically serves clients in the lower-income groups who are partially or fully excluded by the formal banking sector.

“Due to the excellent footprint of NamPost’s branch network, beneficiaries can be reached across the country. By enabling PostFin to greatly expand its loan book over the medium term, the funding directly supports poverty reduction and social progression; adequate financial products and access to finance create an enabling environment especially for micro and small entrepreneurs in the formal and informal sectors.”

Petelina Frans shares her Y’ello experience

In line with the ethos of the MTN Group of making a meaningful impact in the markets that it operates in, MTN Namibia launched its inaugural Graduate Trainee Programme this year. There are five graduates from recognized universities accepted from over 200 applications.

The 24 month initiative by the telecommunications company is designed to give graduates the best hands-on training specific to MTN business units. The program particularly focuses on Finance, Information Technology, Networks, Marketing, Sales and Human Resources. It’s also part of the company’s contribution to skills development in Namibia. Below is a brief interview with one of the trainees, Petelina Frans (PF) on her journey thus far.

Q: Tell us about yourself and your area of study?

PF: My name is Petelina Frans. I am a 23-year-old Business Management graduate from the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). I have a background in social media marketing and can be found working on small social media advertising campaigns for SMEs and upcoming businesses. I am particularly keen on learning how to maximize business efforts through marketing and customer service. I also like to tackle projects that have an impact on the community such as environmental awareness projects and youth engagement on social issues through both active and passive projects.

Q: How did you hear about the MTN management trainee program and what motivated you to apply?

PF: I first saw the advertisement on social media (Twitter). I applied because it was one of the very few programs that was specifically aimed at graduates of all fields of study who had little to no prior work experience.

Q: What impact has the MTN initiative had on your life?

PF: As one of the youngest here, the MTN initiative has allowed for somewhat of a head start into my career. I’ve learned how to navigate my way around professionals who I would otherwise never had the opportunity of engaging with if it wasn’t for MTN. The opportunity allowed for access to several platforms of learning and engagement. My working methods with colleagues and my approach to business has completely changed for the better. I truly believe the lessons I’ve learned here will stay with me throughout my career.

Q: How do you describe your journey so far since you joined the program?

PF: My journey has been truly exciting. I am tasked with something new almost every day and given the opportunity to learn and do more than my scope of study. It’s especially exciting to be surrounded by industry professionals who are more than willing to teach you the ‘tricks of the trade.’

Q: In terms of learning, would you say it’s providing the much needed on the job training you expected?

PF: Definitely. In the four months I have been here, I would say the transition into the job has been fairly smooth and this is because of the continuous training, mentoring and support I receive on a daily basis.

Q: What would you say are the five things that you have learned and stand out for you?
• You cannot remove the administration process from your business, no matter how unconventional or different it may be
• Transparency, in terms of business process and end goals, creates trust, comfort and boosts work ethic amongst employees
• Company culture plays a big role in how employees in all departments interact and ultimately, the success of the organization
• Do not limit yourself to only what you studied
• Know your industry, especially your customer and how to best meet their needs

Q: What can you say has been the most challenging aspect of the program?

PF: I only recently completed my Honors in Business Management. Time management has been very challenging. I had to balance both work and school.

Q: What would you say to those that might want to apply for the program?

PF: Go for it! If there’s any program that helps boost your career and allows you to be fully involved in the industry and business, it’s this one.

Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) says it continues to scout for investment opportunities in the country and to date has invested N$44.3 billion in the local and international markets through listed and unlisted investments.

GIPF Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, Goms Menettèt told guest at the fund’s 30th anniversary celebrations that its hunt for local investment was aimed at complying with Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act, which requires pension funds to hold a minimum of 35 percent to a targeted level of 45 percent of their investments in Namibian assets with the maximum of 3.5 percent in Unlisted Investments.

“To date, GIPF has invested N$44.3 billion in the local and international markets through Listed and Unlisted Investments and is constantly looking at investment opportunities especially locally. Through this legislation, Pension Funds are encouraged to invest in the domestic market and to ensure that Namibian savings are utilized to stimulate development and to make a meaningful contribution to the economy and the development needs of communities by providing development capital to the non-listed sectors with high growth potential,” he said.

Menettèt, however, noted that the fund continues to face challenges in finding the right assets to invest in.

“It must be noted that this is proving to be a challenge due to the sheer size of the GIPF and its ability to deploy such large capital into opportunities. While listings on the Namibia Stock Exchange are slowly flowing through, the exposure that institutional investors have in such issuances are dependent on listing criteria and limitations,” he said.

The GIPF Chairperson said the fund’s unlisted investment has contributed positively towards job creation, infrastructure development and general economic growth in the country.

“The GIPF Unlisted Investment Policy (UIP) has recorded success in job creation, infrastructure development, and general economic growth. The ripple effects of our investments into this asset class is the multiplication of business entrepreneurs, an increase in the critical mass of sustainable businesses and the stimulation of market activities. We are very proud to be a pioneer of this concept in Namibia and we are of the view that the impact of our investments in this area would be robust and sustainable,” Menettèt said.

He also revealed that the fund had saved over N$100 million in management fees by creating its own internal treasury unit.

“During 2015, the Fund established a Treasury Department which manages assets over N$ 12 billion, saving the GIPF close to N$ 30 million in management fees per annum,” he said.

GIPF CEO, David Nuyoma speaking on the same occasion said the fund will continue with its objective of ensuring that it remains fully funded and consistently achieve high returns on investments.

“The Fund is prudently managed and self-administered in order to ensure members and their dependents receive market-related benefits, cost-effective and excellent administrative service. The Fund’s stellar growth from N$844 070 million in 1990 to an astonishing N$118 Billion as at 31 September 2019, is tacit proof of the success of the Fund’s liability-driven investment strategy that has yielded positive growth over the past 30 years. This Liability Driven investment strategy positions the fund to meet and make provision for its ever-increasing liability, to ensure that the members’ benefits are guaranteed and provided for up to 80 years into the future,” he said.

Meanwhile, the GIPF has announced the Fund’s solution upgrade from the Horizon solution to the Document Management Solution (DMS).

DMS is a workflow solution for the distribution of work between staff members when processing claims, which is responsible for handling and managing member documents received and dispatched from the Fund. GIPF took the decision to upgrade to DMS to reduce the time it takes to process registering documents, scanning, indexing and creating workflow cases.

“In our efforts to continuously provide excellent service delivery, the Fund internally developed DMS to enhance handling and administration of member and beneficiary documents. Through this solution, we will reap the benefits of an integrated system, improved processing of claims, enabled monitoring of turnaround times of claims and benefit payments as well as a paperless environment,” said Anna Hambuda, Manager: Records.

“Prior to DMS, three (3) separate systems were used to handle the registration of documents namely: document register, scan log work station and Horizon. The DMS combines the three (3) current solutions into a single solution. Other benefits include: introduction of the admission queue, end-to-end performance report on claim processing, quality image scanning and most importantly enhance efficiency in service delivery.”

In line with the ethos of the MTN Group of making a meaningful impact in the markets that it operates in, MTN Namibia launched its inaugural Graduate Trainee Programme this year.

There are five graduates from recognized universities accepted from over 200 applications. The 24 month initiative by the telecommunications company is designed to give graduates the best hands-on training specific to MTN business units. The program particularly focuses on Finance, Information Technology, Networks, Marketing, Sales and Human Resources. It’s also part of the company’s contribution to skills development in Namibia. Below is a brief interview with one of the trainees, Tega Omuwa Paulus (TOP), an Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering graduate on her journey thus far.

Q) Tell us about yourself and your area of study?

TOP) My name is Tega Omuwa Paulus, a graduate in training at MTN and a member of the Namibia Women in Engineering. I studied Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering at Namibia University of Science and Technology. I am an active and hardworking person that always tries to cope with failure and learn from my mistakes. I prefer good communication and honesty in all areas.

Q)           How did you hear about the MTN Graduate Trainee Program and what motivated you to apply?

TOP) I got to know more about MTN from their Facebook page and this is also where I got to learn about their graduate in training opportunity. Being a telecommunications company and that being my area of study is what motivated me to apply.

Q)           Of what impact has the MTN initiative had on your life?

TOP) Besides creating a supportive workplace for me, the initiative has assisted me to gain more knowledge and strengthen my skills.

Q)           How would you describe your journey so far since you joined the program?

TOP) This program is quite amazing and educative and I am gaining more hands-on experience.

Q)           In terms of learning, would you say it’s providing the much needed on the job training as you expected?

TOP) It is providing much needed job training as expected.

Q)           What would you say are the 5 things that you have learnt and stick out for you?

TOP) Five things I have learnt are:

•             Work Ethics
•             Responsibility
•             Accountability
•             Teamwork
•             Delivering high quality customer service

Q)           What can you say has been the most challenging about the program so far?

TOP) The most challenging thing so far is getting to learn about different people ‘s personalities.

Q)           What would you say to those that might want to apply for the program?

TOP) I recommend MTN as an environmentally friendly workplace to those that would like to apply.

Q)           Any last words that you might want to share?

TOP) Work hard for what you want, because it won’t come to you without a fight.

MTN Business Namibia says it’s still moving ahead with plans to launch a mobile network, after securing all the relevant regulatory approval.

“It has been two-and-a-half years in planning. We have recently changed our strategy in favour of additional control on our side.

Taking on additional CAPEX, ensures that customers have the best possible experience, .. We will have a device strategy with our own channels and we will also franchise some stores, but we have an entire go to market strategy serving both Pre-paid and Post-paid customers across Namibia,” MTN Business Namibia Managing Director, Elia Tsouros told an engagement meeting with its authorised partners, as part of its on-going efforts to update its key stakeholders on the company’s operations.

“We will make sure that by the time we hit the market everything is in place and that we can deliver a service that Namibia will be proud of.”

Tsouros in his address, highlighted how the company has witnessed growth over the past 12 months ,amid major infrastructure investments, the latest being the installation and roll-out of its LTE (4G) service at the coast and Windhoek.

“We have rolled out two additional sites in Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. We are rolling out two additional sites in northern Namibia, and we will be expanding in Swakopmund with additional infrastructure because of the success of that area and that is just this year. We will have 14 sites by the end of the year and we will continue rolling out additional sites next year,” he said.

“For a company that had no infrastructure eight months ago, we will continue to invest in our own infrastructure going forward and it will benefit all of Namibia.”

At the coast, MTN, under its partnership programme, partnered with XDIT which is now authorised to sell MTN products and services.

“We have been dealing indirectly with MTN Business for the past couple of years and they enabled us to sell more at the back in lines for big customers and corporates, but never to the private sector which happened this year. As of October this year, we started partnering up with MTN, selling their products to the customers, which have been going great and the market is excited, as people at the coast seem to be enjoying the new MTN packages,” XDIT Director, Gert Brits, said.

MTN’s partner programme is an initiative that enables local information and communication technology (ICT) service providers to become part of the telecommunications company's products and solutions offering.

Windhoek-based DI Computer Technologies is one of MTN Business Namibia’s oldest partners, having signed up in 2016.

“We have partnered with MTN for longer than most of the partners because we have been in partnership with them for over four years already. We initially partnered with their LAN support and we are now successfully selling and installing MTN’s BeyondWOW LTE services. All I can say is it has been quite an exciting journey, since 2016,” D I Computer Technology Managing Member, Axel Syring, said.

“What distinguishes them from the rest is that they really try to empower the partners. It is not just about talking and not delivering. They support and give additional support services and opportunities in the market. They can get all their resources from the group and from the get-go; they share them publicly and openly with you while also teaching you how to perform different tasks. In the end, it is just a benefit to both of us and so we look forward to the coming years.”

Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) last year granted the company the 084 number range.

NAMBOB, Hollard Life Namibia sign partnership agreement

NAMBOB Funeral Solutions and Hollard Life Namibia have entered into a partnership agreement where NAMBOB will now provide Hollard’s funeral insurance policies to its highly esteemed customers, leveraging on both brands’ expertise.

The agreement, which was signed in Windhoek, comes into effect as from the 01 February 2020. This agreement will now allow Namibians to access funeral insurance products across the country through NAMBOB’s 25 branches and Hollard’s 9 national offices.

With this partnership we are fulfilling our mission statement, that is to serve customers and their communities by providing a one-stop solution for funeral insurance, services and products.” “Further, it also fulfils one of our core brand values that is to put the customer front and centre of every relationship, from providing the right solution to the right customer at the right price to excellent customer service”, NAMBOB Managing Director, Eslon Namuandi, said.

“Adding a funeral insurance segment to our business allows the public access to affordable funeral insurance products, as provided through the partnership, ensuring our customers are able to provide a dignified funeral in line with traditions and wishes.”

Hollard said the agreement with NAMBOB creates a hassle-free environment for its potential and existing funeral insurance policyholders.

“The idea is to reach out to the communities countrywide and to allow NAMBOB to become a true one-stop-shop funeral solutions company, where customers can make affordable provision for a proper burial for their loved ones as well as financial aid during their time of loss. Our aim is to make our policies and funeral solutions more accessible to our customers: From now on, everybody will be able to go to NAMBOB and get a policy, which will be underwritten by Hollard, making the process smoother and simpler for the clients.” Hollard’s portfolio manager, Kamburee Gawaxab, said.

Hollard’s customers can now also submit their funeral insurance claims through NAMBOB branches, with a turnaround time of 48 hours.

NAMBOB is the rebranded former business of Avbob Namibia, which was acquired by private equity firm, EOS Capital, from its South African parent, AVBOB Mutual Insurance Society.

MTC has opened the first ICT Innovation Centre in Windhoek to test, build and showcase new business and consumer ICT applications.

Based at Maerua Mall in Windhoek, MTC Innovation Centre will be a physical space for the digital and physical tools and bare fruits of innovation brought to you by MTC’s Enterprise division. The innovation will be focused on incubating Enterprise-based services on everything from comprehensive fibre internet and digital Cloud computing services to spearhead digital transformation in the smartphone and smart city (connected society) initiatives.

“What we are launching here today is a Digital Cloud computing service with access over LTE and Fiber. In addition, the MTC Innovation Centre will be the platform to allow our partners and customers to test this service in a live environment,” said MTC’s Acting CEO Dr. Licky Erastus, adding that this is a right direction in exploring the huge potential of digitization for both private and business sectors.

As the space for innovation, the centre will include the latest technologies and tools for visitors to experiment or iterate on their ideas or see how else they might apply the technologies in their businesses. MTC as a leading ICT provider are taking another important step to showcase the huge potential of ICT applications for both the private and business sectors.

“Digitalization has sophisticated the market's taste and preferences. Our customers now demand for smart and cost effective market solutions that attend to their ever evolving needs. Hence, this center is where innovative ICT solutions for our customers will be birthed. The center is planned to be home to new ideas, research and development,” said Erastus.

“A successful Digital enabler requires a healthy and prosperous business environment. After all, MTC was established to innovate, provide new experiences and incubate digital services in order for our country to thrive.”

Tim Ekandjo, MTC’s Chief Human Capital and Corporate Affairs Officer speaking at the launch , said that in the ICT industry, one must be flexible to accommodate change and remain relevant.

"Technological revolution screams evolution to the industry players. We have to grease the wheel that invents and reinvent new ways of doing things. We have to adopt and stay on par with change, and as the world is diving in the era of Internet of Things (IoT), we have to embrace digitalization and identify how to siphon value out of and capitalize on the phenomenon to continue providing effective and innovative market solutions. The center is therefore strategic in arraying and positioning MTC’s fit for future. It rests well within our long term strategy,” he said.

In line with the ethos of the MTN Group of making a meaningful impact in the markets that it operates in,MTN Namibia launched its inaugural Graduate Trainee Programme this year.

There are five graduates from recognized universities accepted from over 200 applications. The 24-month initiative by the telecommunications company is designed to give graduates the best hands-on training specific to MTN business units. The program particularly focuses on Finance, Information Technology, Networks, Marketing, Sales and Human Resources. It’s also part of the company’s contribution to skills development in Namibia. Below is a brief interview with one of the trainees,Arno Norich, an Industrial Psychology from the University of Namibia on his journey thus far.

Q) Tell us about yourself and your area of study?

AN) I am Arno Norich a very dynamic and ambitious graduate who hails from a small town called Tsumeb. I hold an Honors degree in Industrial Psychology from the University of Namibia.

Q) How did you hear about the MTN graduate trainee program and what motivated you to apply?

AN) I heard about the program through MTN’s social media platforms and what motivated me to apply for this program was the prospect of working for a brand that is well established and whose values are not so different from my own. I was also motivated by the prospect of being part of a brand that is always striving to achieve and where change is not shunned upon but rather embraced and also where the willingness to push boundaries and limits is encouraged.

Q) What impact has the MTN initiative had on your life?

AN) MTN’s initiative to empower the youth through its graduate program has had a huge impact on my life, not only was I presented with the opportunity to grow professionally, but it also fostered within me the willingness to achieve more and overcome the fear of being average.

Q) How do you describe your journey so far since you joined the program?

AN) My journey has been a learning one in the sense of requiring me to unlearn what I thought was required of me to succeed and re-learning attributes and behaviors required to succeed.

Q) In terms of learning, would you say it’s providing the much needed on the job training as you expected?

AN) In all honesty, the knowledge I have acquired in the program thus far has exceeded my expectation due to its never-ending learning nature. The MTN culture requires you to learn, learn, learn.

Q) What would you say are the 5 things that you have learnt and stick out for you?

AN) I have learned that if you want to go fast, go alone, however, if you want to go further, go together in short teamwork makes the dreamwork.

- I have learned how to be more proactive

- I have learned to foster within me a can-do attitude.

-I have learned to see the best in everything and everyone.

-I have learned to persevere.

Q) What can you say has been the most challenging about the program so far?

AN) The program has no room for complacency, something which I feel is challenging but is also a tool for growth.

Q) What would you say to those that might want to apply for the program?

AN) If you want to flourish and grow, MTN is your ideal place.

Q) Any last words that you might want to share?

AN) I would just like to show gratitude to MTN for giving me this opportunity, because graduate unemployment is a serious issue in this country and being in a position to learn and grow is an honor and privilege. I would also like to encourage graduates to be on the lookout for this opportunities as thy help shape their careers.

Bank Windhoek named The Banker’s Bank of the Year

Bank Windhoek was named Bank of the Year by leading Financial Times publication, The Banker.

“Bank Windhoek was Namibia’s best performing bank in a difficult economic climate. The judges were impressed not only by the bank’s strong financial performance, but also by innovative initiatives such as its landmark Green Bond offering and its Woman in Business product range," said John Everington, Middle East and Africa Editor, The Banker.

Bank Windhoek’s Green Bond, launched in December 2018 was the first of its kind bond to cater specifically to the financing of sustainable, green project in Southern Africa.

The Women in Business offering, launched in 2018, recognises both the efforts and needs of women who own and run their own business as major contributors to the economy.

The offering comprises of access to business and personal transactional accounts and includes as many saving pockets as they require to reach their financial goals. Women in Business Account holders also have access to the Hey Jude for Bank Windhoek Mobile App, a personal assistant on their smartphones that assists with jobs that allow account holders to focus on their businesses.

The prestigious award follows after Bank Windhoek was ranked as the best Namibian bank in the African Business Magazine, moving up seven places from last year.

Africa’s top 100 banks are ranked annually as of the Top 100 Banks survey, which is conducted by the African Business magazine.

Regarded as the industry standard for banking excellence, The Banker's Bank of the Year Awards judge the world's leading financial institutions on their ability to deliver returns, gain strategic advantage and serve their markets.

“Our success is the result of the dedication, resilience, teamwork and the tenacity of the Bank Windhoek and Capricorn Group teams. Customer centricity is fundamental to how we do business. We believe that strong relationships based on ethical principles, are the currency of business today and pride ourselves in being a relationship driven bank. We have a unique and proud heritage based on the entrepreneurial foresight and pioneering spirit of our founders embedded in our culture. In as much as we are building a strong and high-performance driven business, we also focus on being a responsible corporate citizen by giving back to the communities in which we operate and ensuring that we embed environmental sustainability into the core of how we approach business. This is a very big part of who we are and what we stand for,” said Bank Windhoek’s Managing Director, Baronice Hans , commenting on the award.

“We are proud to bring home this accolade. It is confirmation of our commitment to our staff, our customers and being business partners for growth for all our stakeholders. As a truly 100% Namibian bank, we will continue to journey together with all our stakeholders to impact positively in our country and live as Connectors of Positive Change.”

Bank Windhoek’s Chief Financial Officer, James Chapman said Bank Windhoek proved to be resilient in a tough economic environment during the 2019 financial year despite the tough economic environment.

“Despite a number of consecutive quarters of negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and low levels of inflation, Bank Windhoek’s normalised profit after tax grew by 10.6 percent year-on-year. Top line growth is a strong indicator of business health, especially when coupled with business efficiency drivers. We continued to grow revenue through advances growth but have also improved interest margins by optimising the bank’s balance sheet. In addition, non-interest revenue growth was largely driven by robust earnings from trading and foreign exchange income. Furthermore, the introduction of and investment in digital and innovative customer solutions has resulted in lower cost to serve delivery channels and more efficient back office cost structures. This is much needed during a period of lower private credit extension, economic stagnation, non-traditional competition and digital disruption,” Chapman said.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors of Bank Windhoek and Capricorn Group I would like to congratulate our Group’s flagship brand, Bank Windhoek, on receiving the 2019 Bank of the Year Award for Namibia. We are proud of the achievements and continued solid performance of Bank Windhoek in very difficult market conditions. I would therefore like to express my heartfelt appreciation for the resilience, dedication and hard work of all the Bank Windhoek employees”, said Johan Swanepoel, Chair of Bank Windhoek and Capricorn Group.

NAMBOB Funeral Solutions has entered into two additional partnership agreements with Metropolitan Namibia and Liberty Namibia, bringing to three agreements signed this year.

The two agreements, which were signed in Windhoek, will come into effect as from the 01 February 2020, as the company aggressively moves to consolidate its market share and service offering to its clients.

“With these partnerships we are fulfilling our mission statement, that is to serve customers and their communities by providing a one-stop solution for funeral insurance, services and products.” “Further, it also fulfils one of our core brand values that is to put the customer front and centre of every relationship, from providing the right solutions to the right customer at the right price to excellent customer service”, NAMBOB Managing Director, Eslon Namuandi, said.

“Adding a funeral insurance segment to our business allows the public access to affordable funeral insurance products, as provided through the partnerships, ensuring our customers are able to be provide with dignified funeral solutions in line with traditions and wishes.”

Metropolitan’s Head Retail Distribution, Theophelus Gurirab said the NAMBOB agreement is in line with its belief of a one stop service center culture for its customers and will deliver towards an improved customer experience for its clients.

“The newly establish relationship will be mutually beneficial for both Metropolitan and NAMBOB and the customers will find value in it. This agreement will be a significant milestone in our envisaged collaboration. We live in demanding times, where the businesses are differentiated by excellent service offered to customers and by offering innovative products. I must state that Metropolitan is ready to deliver to those expectations,” Gurirab said.

“Metropolitan is delighted to sign this agreement with NAMBOB because the company is one of the oldest companies in the funeral undertaking business with a deep rooted foot print and we are certain that this thinking and partnership will further benefit our collective customers.”

Liberty Life Namibia Managing Director, Monique Cloete said the NAMBOB agreement is a culmination of an 8-year relationship and will expand the company’s existing offering.

“Liberty Life has had a relationship with NAMBOB since 2012.NAMBOB has been selling Liberty funeral policies since that date. We have decided to enter into a new agreement with NAMBOB to expand the offering. It essentially places NAMBOB in a position now where they can see the needs of the customer on a broader basis, not just in terms of funeral cost but also to provide for families left behind after death. They cover medical expenses for people who are ill and come to pass away subsequently and so forth. It does provide a broader value to the customer at the end of the day,” Liberty Life Namibia Managing Director, Monique Cloete said.

NAMBOB is the rebranded former business of Avbob Namibia, which was acquired by private equity firm, EOS Capital, from its South African parent, AVBOB Mutual Insurance Society.

NamibRe’s credit rating improves … N$10m dividend to govt

GLOBAL Credit Rating Co (Pty) Ltd (GCR) recently upgraded Namibia National Reinsurance Corporation Limited’s (NamibRe) national scale financial strength rating to AA-(NA), from A+(NA), with an outlook which is the equivalent of ‘stable’.

In addition, GCR revised the international scale financial strength (formerly claims paying ability) rating assigned to NamibRe to B+/Stable from BB. This is a huge achievement for the corporation and its shareholders, as the global industry trend saw most reinsurance companies’ ratings downgraded last year. Bearing out the rating agency’s findings of a good liquidity standing underpinned by a healthy internal cash flow situation for the financial year ended 31 March 2019, NamibRe declared a dividend of N$10 million to its main stakeholder, the government.
NamibRe’s national scale financial strength rating upgrade is a reflection of sustained improvement in earnings, coupled with remarkable maintenance of strong risk adjusted capitalisation and liquidity. The corporation’s improved earnings are supported by a favourable claims experience backed-up by sound investment income.
The other aspect of the corporation’s operations that contributed to the positive rating was the risk adjusted capitalisation, which the rating agency viewed to be strong with a large capital base and the ability to cater for the quantum of insurance and market exposure.
“This upgrade not only speaks to our ability to pay claims as a corporation, but also speaks to our business acumen, as a profit-making organisation that has managed to improve and deliver positive results, despite the legal disputes and harsh economic landscape in which we have been operating during the past 2 to 3 years,” says NamibRe’s Managing Director, Patty Karuaihe-Martin.
GCR was established in 1996, as the African branch of the New York Stock Exchange-listed Duff & Phelps. It maintains a presence in Mauritius, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Zimbabwe. The agency has grown rapidly and has since positioned and cemented itself as the leading rating agency in Africa, accounting for the majority of all ratings accorded on the African continent for banks, financial institutions, insurance, corporate and public sector debt, and structured finance. GCR serves customers worldwide. Boasting the largest ratings team in Africa, GCR has an unmatched on-the-ground presence, as well as easy access to market participants. It is also a founder member of Europe based ARC Ratings, which is registered with the European Securities and Markets Authority.

Mobile operator MTC is planning to offer mobile money services, with the company’s plans said to be an advanced stage.

The telecom’s company plans come as it seeks to leverage on its dominate market position in the Namibian mobile space, where it has the numbers, with over two million subscribers connected to its network and also as it seeks to diversify its income streams which are currently dominated by data and voice services.

Mobile money is a service that allows mobile subscribers to stores funds in a secure electronic account, linked to a mobile phone number and the service allows users to store, send, buy and receive money using their mobile phone.

Mobile money is a popular alternative to both cash and banks because it can be used anywhere where there is a mobile phone signal.

“MTC is always looking out for innovative ways to make life easier for our clients and mobile money services, and its benefit of allowing users to purchase items in shops or online, pay bills, school fees, and top-up mobile airtime, is the right path to take. As MTC, and an ITC solution provider, this is something we are looking into and will possibly consider in the near future,” MTC's Corporate Affairs Manager John Ekongo told the Windhoek Observer.

The planned move by the telecoms company is expected to eat in the market share of digital money platforms, which are currently and exclusively run by banks such as FNB’s eWallet, Bank Windhoek’s Easy Wallet and Standard Bank’s Blue Wallet.

In South Africa, the country’s leading mobile operators MTN, relaunched its mobile money service called MoMo and powered by ubank last week, more than three years after ditching a similar offering, as it bets on improved technology to attract millions of South Africans who have limited access to banking services.

The company announced that it was targeting over 11 million South Africans that do not have access to banking facilities, with 50 percent of the country’s adult population thinly served, through the services similar to Kenya’s Safaricom, a pioneer of mobile phone cash transfers through its M-Pesa mobile payment service.

The GSM Association estimates that over half of all mobile money services in the world are in Sub-Saharan Africa, which remains the fastest-growing mobile market in the world, with the value of mobile money transactions for the region amounting to US$26.8 billion out of the global figure of US$40.8 billion.

Canadian, African miners to explore for copper in Namibia

White Metal Resources, Luxury Investments One Hundred and Ninety-Two, Kalahari Copper and Newco Management Team of South Africa have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to work together on examining small-scale production possibilities in Namibia.

The companies announced that the areas to be examined are covered by exclusive prospecting licences controlled by White Metal and Kalahari Copper. Luxury Investments, on the other hand, has been successfully running a small-scale mining operation in Namibia in close proximity to the EPLs held by White Metal and Kalahari.

These operations according to the companies have produced approximately 200 to 250 tonnes per month of copper concentrate in the past two years at a grade of 30 percent Cu.

“The parties will work in collaboration to see if the concept of small-scale mining would be effective on the Okohongo Cu-Ag deposit (White Metal) and any other prospects within the above mentioned EPLs,” the companies said in statement.

In parallel to these activities, Canada’s White Metal will advance other exploration campaigns in the country after it recently received the required Environmental Clearance Certificates for its Taranis and Altam properties from the Namibian government.

“I am very encouraged by the potential opportunities to develop small-scale mines within our licences and look forward to working with the group,” Michael Stares, White Metal’s interim president and CEO, said in a statement.

“We are also pleased to have received the EEC clearance from the Namibian Government as we can now begin implementing our planned work programmes and advance the properties.”

This comes as Canadian exploration and development company, Trigon Metals Inc’s 80 percent owned subsidiary, Trigon Mining (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd has been awarded a new Exclusive Prospecting Licence No. 7525 by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

EPL 7525 has been awarded to Trigon Namibia for a three-year period, commencing on January 17, 2020, in respect of base and rare metals, industrial minerals and precious metals, subject to the terms and conditions of the Minerals (Mining and Prospecting) Act No. 33 of 1992 relating to exclusive prospecting licence.

EPL 7525 covers an area of 1,056.9964 hectares, situated to the west of Trigon Namibia’s Kombat Project and south of the Company’s Gross Otavi project. The Kombat Project, comprising three of the Company’s five active mining licences, is located on the northern limb of the Otavi Valley Syncline, localized immediately below the contact between dolostones of the Hüttenberg Formation and phyllites of the overlying Kombat Formation of the Mulden Group.

A series of copper-lead deposits have been mined on the Kombat property, localized within the 200m wide vertical to sub-vertical Fracture Zone. This Fracture Zone and the lines of mineralized bodies cut the northern limb of the Otavi Syncline at an angle causing a shallow plunge to the west. The extent and location of the Fracture Zone have been modelled from the data in the Kombat Project borehole database, which contains nearly 700km of borehole data.

The company believes that the area licenced under EPL 7525 holds significant upside potential for the Kombat project providing access to the area to the west of the Asis Far West shaft, where the geological model indicates there is potential for a westward extension of the Asis West mineralized zone.

Tanga Resources has also announced that it has just completed the first phase of an RC drilling programme at its Main Gossan North prospect in Namibia where three holes targeted a geophysical anomaly. A diamond rig will now move onto the Main Gossan prospect, where a drill hole last year snagged a 17-metre intercept grading 0.82 percent copper from 111m. Results from drilling are expected in the coming weeks.

Diamond drilling at the Main Gossan is planned to test the down-plunge extents of this significant copper anomalism, which lines up with an electromagnetic anomaly. The rig will head back to the Main Gossan North prospect after it finishes at Main Gossan for the second phase of RC drilling and it will then move onto the Main Gossan West, A1, A2, and Giftputs South targets.

These targets were identified from a recent ground magnetic survey and a series of surface and rock chip samples that were found to be anomalous in copper. Located in north-central Namibia, around 200 kilometres north-west of Windhoek, the Hagenof copper project sits within the prospective Damara Belt, where Tanga has secured a landholding covering 1,700 square km.

Following the acquisition of Hagenhof last year, the company teamed up with Epangelo Mining, the private mining investment arm of the Namibian government. During 2019, the JV partners completed a 3000m-plus maiden drill programme, which uncovered significant copper mineralisation at the Main Gossan target, where outcropping samples returned numbers such as 3.54 percent copper and 0.03 percent cobalt. – miningweekly.com

The FirstRand Namibia Foundation has donated equipment valued at N$92 000 to the Okakarara Vocational Training Centre (OVTC).

The company said the donation is part of its contribution towards bridging the country’s skills gap.

“Vocational training is truly the need of the hour, especially in a country like Namibia where our students need skills to become self-reliant. I am delighted to officially hand over an embroidery machine, two t-shirt head press machines, a vinyl cutter machine, three straight stitch sewing machines, and two overlock sewing machines to the value of N$92 000”, said Seth Maharero, Branch Manager of FNB Okakarara,

“Namibia needs robust interventions from all sectors of the economy to bridge the skills gap, promote the social welfare of the general populace and the eradication of poverty through self-employment. This donation by FNB will enable OVTC to become even more of a community-oriented institution by being responsive to the community’s demand of quality and effective services,” said Sackeus T Pohamba, VTC Head: Trainee Support.

The OVTC officially opened its doors in 1997, and is the oldest centre run by the Namibia Training Authority (NTA). The centre conducts its operations under the Vocational Education and Training (VET) Act, No. 1 of 2008, which makes provision for the management and control of all state-owned vocational training centres to be devolved upon the NTA, until such time that these centres, in the opinion of the Board of Directors of the NTA, are transformed into self-reliant vocational education and training providers.

MultiChoice Namibia empowers entrepreneurs

Hard work pays off, so the old saying goes. However, when it comes to starting your own business, sometimes-hard work alone is not enough and entrepreneurs need a little helping hand.

Nobody knows this better than Farai Muparadzi. Thirteen years ago, the budding business owner spotted a need to bring satellite TV to his local community of Katutura in Windhoek. Farai started his business, but battled to get it off the ground. That was when he decided to look for help, and discovered the MultiChoice Namibia Accredited Installer Programme.

Farai signed up, completed the training and within a week was operating as an independent accredited installer for MultiChoice Namibia, successfully installing sat-TV dishes and connecting customers to the DStv and GOtv services.

“The earlier years of our business were very challenging but the moment we entered into a relationship with MultiChoice, everything changed and we began to experience positive growth within our business. Working with a big organisation like MultiChoice gives you something to lean on, like ongoing training and marketing support. Our business success is as a direct result of the support we received from MultiChoice Namibia,” says Farai.

Customer trust is important in this community, and Farai’s customers have come to love and trust the MultiChoice brand. It is off the back of this that Farai decided to dedicate his life to bringing services to the people, and to bettering their lives.

“It is a wonderful journey that I am on with MultiChoice. What keeps me going every day is my family. My wife and my children make me want to be a better man. From a young age, we were taught we have to work hard for everything we need in life. I’m doing my best to pass on those values to my own children,” he adds.

As small business owner operating in both Katutura and Otjomuise, Farai is proudly making a difference in his local community, setting an example to his children while improving their lives.

“Working with MultiChoice Namibia changed our lives as a business and as a family,” says Farai. “We will always be grateful for the relationship we have with MultiChoice, and what it has done for us as a company that cares.”

Hard work pays off, so the old saying goes. However, when it comes to starting your own business, sometimes-hard work alone is not enough and entrepreneurs need a little helping hand.

As small business owner operating in both Katutura and Otjomuise, Farai is proudly making a difference in his local community, setting an example to his children while improving their lives.

Hard work pays off, so the old saying goes. However, when it comes to starting your own business, sometimes-hard work alone is not enough and entrepreneurs need a little helping hand.

As small business owner operating in both Katutura and Otjomuise, Farai is proudly making a difference in his local community, setting an example to his children while improving their lives.

GIPF forecasts N$ 5,2 billion in pay out benefits

Home loan regulations gazetted

Intensive farming on lesser land is the future

NamPost, KfW ink loan deal

Petelina Frans shares her Y’ello experience

GIPF invests N$44.3 billion, scouts for new opportunities

Tega’s shares her Y’ello journey

MTN still going mobile

NAMBOB, Hollard Life Namibia sign partnership agreement

MTC opens ICT Innovation Centre

Arno shares his Y’ello journey

Bank Windhoek named The Banker’s Bank of the Year

NAMBOB inks partnership agreements with Metropolitan, Liberty

NamibRe’s credit rating improves … N$10m dividend to govt

MTC eyes mobile money

Canadian, African miners to explore for copper in Namibia

FirstRand Namibia donates N$92 000 worth of equipment

MultiChoice Namibia empowers entrepreneurs

MultiChoice Namibia empowers entrepreneurs

MultiChoice Namibia empowers entrepreneurs