The Bank of Namibia (BoN) says it is working on digital transformation and modernising the local financial sector to improve financial inclusion.
This was cemented by BoN’s recent visit to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to benchmark and advance Namibia’s financial inclusion and strengthen the central bank’s ability to manage financial risks arising from new forms of money.
BoN Governor Johannes! Gawaxab said the Kenyan experience was crucial in guiding the apex bank as it reforms the local financial sector.
“Kenya is well known for its financial services democratisation agenda, and through its digital innovations, it has achieved a financial inclusion rate of 84%, higher than Namibia’s financial inclusion rate of 78%,” he said.
“They have managed to do so by providing an enabling environment that has unleashed the entrepreneurial talent and ingenuity of the Kenyan people. These lessons are crucial as we develop our new Financial Sector Strategy underpinned by a reform agenda with Namibians playing a larger role in ownership and management of our financial services institutions.”
BoN Principal Officer of International Relations and Sustainability, Naufiku Hamunime, said the visit provided valuable insights into the successful initiatives of the CBK that will be employed to improve policies and practices to serve the Namibian people.
“The engagement represented an important opportunity for mutual learning between the two Central Banks, especially in fulfilling their respective price and financial sector stability mandates,” she said.
She added that the bank has been actively seeking strategic partnerships to facilitate pursuits with leading central banks on the African continent and beyond.
“During the visit, the delegation from BoN had the opportunity to learn from successful initiatives undertaken by the Central Bank of Kenya in financial sector transformation and deepening,” Hamunime said.
“The engagement also allowed the two Central Banks to deliberate on emerging technologies, such as Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, and other virtual assets. These novel innovations will require central banks to collaborate closely to enact relevant policies that strike a balance between embracing innovation and safeguarding financial stability.”
Hamunime highlighted that business units are reaping the benefits of enhanced efficiency due to the digitalisation and automation of business processes.
“The Bank recently launched an Automated Regulatory Reporting System for regulated entities in the banking, exchange control, and payment provision areas. These deployments are part of the future-fit central bank strategy being championed by the Governor,” she said.
The Bank of Namibia’s digital transformation agenda is gaining momentum with investments in systems and platforms to support digitisation for increased operational efficiency in the last year.
