Niël Terblanché
Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in Namibia are set to host the 2023 Southern African Development Community network forum.
The Agribank, Development Bank of Namibia, Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia and the National Housing Enterprise will host the forum under the SADC Development Finance Resource Centre (SADC-DFRC) and it is scheduled to take place from 6-9 June 2023 in Swakopmund.
The network forum will be presented under the theme “Balancing DFI developmental mandate with sustainability.”
The DFRC is an organization staffed by professionals in strategic areas and employs a collaborative approach which involves the utilization of complementary external technical partners in its focal areas and serves as a facilitator and catalyst to DFIs, SADC governments and other key development stakeholders.
Its mandate is to promote the effective mobilization of resources by the financial sector, in particular the DFIs, for investment in key areas with the potential to stimulate growth, generate employment and alleviate poverty, in line with the objectives of SADC under the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP).
The objective of the forum is to discuss and share experiences on how DFIs have been able to mobilise appropriately priced or low-cost capital to meet their developmental mandates and close existing market gaps, particularly in such sectors as SMMEs and infrastructure development that, due to a number of factors such as high risk and long project gestation periods, have traditionally been shunned by commercial banks.
The forum will, among others, discuss available resources to DFIs on the domestic and international capital markets, nature, conditions of access and providers such as the Green Climate Fund.
Delegates will also look into how DFIs have fared under different forms of regulation and governance structures and how these impact their sustainability and what would be best practice in these areas.
To address DFI sustainability and effective mandate execution, the forum will draw speakers from MFIs, ICPs, DFIs and regional organisations that focus on DFI regulation and governance. Panel discussions consisting largely of network member DFIs will constitute the main focus of the forum as this would present the perfect opportunity to share information and experiences and the adoption of emerging best practices.
To mark the SADC-DFRC’s contributions towards the SADC regional developmental goals, through its services to the DFIs, in particular, Member State Governments and the broad development finance community in general, the SADC DFRC will also celebrate its 20th year of existence. The forum will also be attended by senior officials of regional and international DFIs, resource mobilisation specialists and Government officials, among other development stakeholders.
The Deputy Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, Maureen Hinda-Mbuende, will officiate at the opening of the event.
