The Chief Executive Officer of the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), Dr. John Steytler, has been appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Southern African Development Community’s Development Finance Resource Centre (SADC-DFRC).
Steytler’s two-year tenure will commence on 1 January 2025 and run until 31 December 2026. His appointment was confirmed at the SADC Development Finance Institutions (DFI) Network meeting held on 29 November 2024 in Mbombela, South Africa.
The SADC-DFRC, a subsidiary institution of SADC, operates under the SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment (FIP) and serves as a collective platform for the region’s Development Finance Institutions. The network currently comprises 41 national DFIs.
Mandated to facilitate effective resource mobilisation for investments in key economic sectors, the SADC-DFRC plays a pivotal role in promoting sustainable growth, job creation, and poverty alleviation in line with the Revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030.
“Namibia has an important role to play in advancing development finance within the region. This appointment is an opportunity to contribute to our shared sustainable goals while further strengthening our presence in shaping the future of development finance across Southern Africa,” Steytler said on his appointment.
The newly appointed SADC-DFRC Board is comprised of other prominent leaders from various Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) across the region, including Mduduzi Dlamini, CEO of Eswatini Housing Board and Chairman of the SADC-DFRC Board; Cross Kgosidiile, Managing Director of the Botswana Development Corporation; Frank Nyabundenge, Managing Director of the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank; Obert Ngwenya, CEO of the Small & Medium Enterprises Development Corporation, Zimbabwe; Boitumelo Masako, CEO of the Development Bank of Southern Africa; Joao Salvador Quintas, CEO of Banco Desenvolvimento de Angola and Chairman of the SADC DFI Network; and Sadwick Mtonakutha, Director of the SADC Finance, Investment and Customs Directorate, who serves as an Ex Officio member.
