 |
What form of business is best?One of the most important things you need to do is to decide what form of business your SME will be? There are many forms of businesss: from sole proprietorships, to partnerships, to CCs, to PTY LTDs. The most likely form for your small business will either be sole proprietorship or a close corporation. |
Home 
About DBN
About DBN
About DBN
Exclusions
The Development Bank of Namibia does not finance:
- Refinancing or consolidation of existing debt
- Speculative activities with little or no value addition
- Specialised equipment not essential to the business
- Socially undesirable investments such as gambling
- Reimbursement for unrelated expenditure prior to loan approval.
Governance framework
The Bank is governed by a Board of seven directors, appointed in terms of the DBN Act. This Board determines and controls the business strategy, and directs the operations of the Bank. The Board is composed of highly skilled individuals and business leaders from the private sector, including representatives of the financial sector.
The cornerstone of DBN's governance framework is its Board Rules. The principles put forward in the Rules are put into practice by Management and by the various Sub-Committees of the Board, namely the Audit, Risk and Compliance, the Credit and Investment, Human Capital and Remuneration, as well as the Special Development Fund Committees.
The Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee's Corporate Governance Report in the Annual Report provides insight into DBN's governance structures.
Hallmarks of DBN financing
In addition to the role of financier, the Bank fosters projects from first contact through the term of the loan. Hallmarks of its involvement and approach are:
- Business logic first
The Bank seeks the business logic of the individual application rather than resemblance to similar projects. - Acceptance of innovation
The Bank views innovation as a source of growth, and so is willing to finance 'out-of-the-box' projects, subject to viability. - Risk mitigation
The Bank reduces risk with active involvement from the first application and highlights risks inherent to the market. On granting the loan, the Bank actively monitors the health of the project. - Custom financing
In the interests of viability of selected projects, the Development Bank of Namibia tailors deals with reduced interest rates, delayed terms and longer periods for projects with high degrees of development impact. - Financial principles
In accordance with the Bank's founding principles, financial sustainability is imperative, and is achieved by adhering to prudent business and investment principles. - Robust governance
The Bank's ability to take risk is guided by robust principles of governance including transparency in the decision making process, multiple tiers in the approval process and accountability across the organisation.
Nature of Finance
The Bank provides finance for:- Private sector start-ups and expansions
- Equity deals
- Bridging finance
- Enterprise development finance
- Trade finance
- Franchise Finance
- Small and medium enterprises
- Public private partnerships
- Public sector infrastructure
- Local Authorities
- Microfinance
- An initial grace period A limited, initial grace period is available to certain classes of loans to allow the lender to concentrate financial resources on development of cash flows.
- Extended terms of loans Private sector loans are granted for a period of 10 years, and public sector loans are granted for a period of 20 years.
- Favourable interest rates although the Bank parallels commercial lending rates, rates can be assessed on the basis of projects' development impact.
- Syndication in line with its philosophy of partnership, the Development Bank of Namibia involves other parties in project finance syndication arrangements to ensure additional financing to realise projects.
Track record
The Development Bank of Namibia was established by an Act of Parliament, and launched in April 2004.
