bout 30% of the Rural Population Has No Access To Financial Services … minister calls for more inclusion

By:Nghiinomenwa-vali Erastus

MINISTER of Urban and Rural Development Erastus Uutoni has called on stakeholders in the financial service sector to make their services available to people in the rural areas to allow them to fully participate in the transformation of the rural economy.
Uutoni said making financial services available to rural people and leveraging digital solutions is critical for rural economic transformation.
He made this call during the Bank of Namibia’s 24th annual symposium on the transformation of the rural economy.
At that event, Uutoni revealed that 27% of Namibians living in rural areas had no access to financial services.
This, he said, was an indication that a significant proportion of the rural population including households and entrepreneurs are excluded from mainstream financial services.
These statistics come at a time when Namibia needs to implement climate change mitigation measures and de-risk the agricultural sector from rain.
Currently, about 70% of the country’s population depends on agriculture for livelihoods and income.
However, due to the prevailing drought conditions experienced over the past few years and the unpredictable rain patterns, agriculture in Namibia is becoming more capital-intensive, requiring access to credit facilities.