The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) and Bank Windhoek held an SME finance symposium to engage small and medium enterprises on how to acquire finances for their businesses.

The engagement also aimed to equip existing small and medium enterprises with the knowledge to succeed in acquiring loans from Bank Windhoek.

Entrepreneurs were urged to first open a bank account as an SME, obtain a tax certificate, register a business, and raise capital when starting a business.

The Credit Origination Manager at Bank Windhoek, Aune Hamukonda, said one needs a business plan first, which explains the business concept and its targets.

"Who are you targeting as your potential clients? The other thing we want to understand is the marketing strategy: how are you going to get the message across to the target market? We know you know what you are talking about; what are the channels through which you are going to advertise your business? And the main thing we want to know is the loan breakdown."

Other information the bank needs include business registration documents, partnership registration, bank statements, proof of business address, and shareholder or member information.

The process to obtain capital for SMEs or to revive existing businesses takes about one or two weeks, depending on the information provided.

On his part, the Executive Director for MSME Innovation and Acceleration at NIPDB, Dino Ballotti, described the symposium as an opportunity to assist SMEs in growing.

"We are conscious of your needing capital, but there is also capacity. So we do not want to do training; we are not trying to get entrepreneurs in rooms and hold and train entrepreneurs, but we do understand that the more you know, the easier it is to grow your business."

The engagement was held under the theme "Accessing Finance with Bank Windhoek."