Staff Writer
Agribank disbursed N$246 million of loans in the financial year ended 31 March 2020 and of this amount, more than N$21 million was paid exclusively to female clients, while N$52 million went to the youth (below 40 years of age).
According to the bank’s latest financials, Agribank also extended funding worth over N$15 million to communal farmers without collateral, while over 8-thousand farmers countrywide benefitted from training and mentorship interventions during the same period.
“The Bank continues to deliver credible financial performance as its loan book grew by 11 percent to N$3.01 million in 2020 from N$2.8 million in 2019, interest income went up by 12.7 percent to N$243 million, while the operating expenses went up by only 4.2 percent from N$136.7 million in 2019 to N$142.5 million in 2020.”
The Bank listed the implementation of loan process automation which delivers clear visibility on the application progress tracking that enforces accountability to improve turnaround times as one of the key achievements during the past financial year. Other highlights include the collection of over N$323 million in arrears, while the Bank continues to feature amongst the top 25 positively communicating brands in the country.
Speaking at the virtual Annual General Meeting in Windhoek, Agribank’s Chief Executive Officer, Sakaria Nghikembua, said the Bank will continue to “preserve the business through securing sustainablesources of affordable loan book funding. We will ensure new business growth, maintain positive collections trajectory and prudently manage expenses while managing provisions for bad debt”. Our focus is to diverisfy the loan book for climate resilience and inclusivity by bringing onboard the youth, women and communal producers”.
“We are also sourcing grant funding to expand the reach and depth of training and mentorship services, while sustaining high performance environment. Continouos enhancement of the brand reputation, balancing mandate sustainability and shareholder as well as client expectations also remain high on the agenda.”
The AGM was attended by the Ministers of Finance and Public Enterprises and the Agribank Board.
