13 Jul 2021

UNDP and six financial institutions in Botswana have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance access to finance for local small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Gaborone yesterday,  UNDP resident representative, Ms Jacinta Barrins said her organisation, through its Supplier Development Programme, had embarked on a journey to partner with selected institutions in an effort to prioritise SMEs’ access to funding.

Ms Barrins said the MoU objectives included establishing partnerships with financial institutions for provision of various products such as credit and investment facilities as well as asset financing.

She said the agreement would also proactively mitigate funding bottlenecks that might arise  during  implementation.

Ms Barrins explained that  the MoU was prompted by SME’s identification of access to finance as one of the key business challenges.

She said UNDP recognised the difficulties faced by small business in their attempts to apply for loans, lines of credit and expansion capital through traditional banking.

“As UNDP, we aim to promote and advance access to finance for SMEs in Botswana as well as to build a vibrant SME sector that can play a critical role in economic growth and employment creation,” she said.

Speaking at the event, Bankers Association of Botswana CEO, Mr Oabile Mabusa applauded UNDP’s flagship project for proactively promoting and alleviating challenges faced by the country’s SME sector, especially access to finance.

“The marriage between UNDP and the financial institutions here present will be strengthened on a non-exclusive basis, founded in an area of common interest being the growth of SMEs in Botswana into fruitful enterprises,” he said.

The financial institutions include Stanbic Bank, ABSA Botswana, Bank Gaborone, Standard Chartered Bank, Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) and National Development Bank (NDB). Ends