The residents of Kavango West Region have called on the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) to establish a regional office, citing that the absence of a physical presence is contributing to low youth participation in funded projects.
"You see, maybe since when you launched your new products, Kavango West did not submit any application due to the region not having an office for the bank."
"If the office is only based in Rundu, then we know these social issues and the unemployment rate amongst the young people, so how are we expecting or how are we planning to help the young people out here, or maybe just to capacitate us with a little information so that we can assist the young people?"
"If you happen to see how this hall has been packed, this is already a response that people are in dire need of the information, but these people were not given enough opportunity to deliberate on the matters affecting their livelihoods."
Stakeholders raised concerns that many applicants have not received feedback on their submissions.
They also identified the preparation of quality proposals as a key challenge limiting access to funding.
"The emphasising of requesting the business management plan to give training to the people in order to have the skills and knowledge to craft the business plan themselves. Standing here myself, I paid 10 thousand for my business to be written; not everyone can afford N$10,000."
"Maybe it's high time you capacitate consultancy in the regions that can help the entrepreneurs who need funding from you."
Suggestions put forward included DBN increasing outreach to youth in rural areas and introducing constituency-level projects, instead of focusing only on support for individual businesses.
The calls come against the backdrop of a 52.8% unemployment rate in the region, with participants stressing the need for improved access to development finance to stimulate job creation and economic activity.
"Time is limited, but they have opened their doors. The Rundu office is open; when you happen to go there, you pass by it. Of course they have put it down; they have not promised us, but they are going to go back to their books to think of putting a satellite office for us here so that we can access information on our doorstep. Very nearby. We shouldn't worry; we are a new region, and we are centralised, so we expect them to come and set up here," stated NCCI Chairperson Petrus Kalaluka.
According to data presented, DBN has invested N$97.8 million in Kavango West over the past 10 years in the land servicing, construction, and youth business services sectors.
Under SME financing, N$30.7 million in loans were approved for Kavango West over the last 10 years.
As of July 2026, the DBN has approved eight applications under the national youth development fund at a combined value of N$2 million.