By Edgar Brandt
WINDHOEK – Namibia’s first ever female chairperson of a commercial bank, Monica Kalondo, this week said the EBank aims to develop and introduce solutions that will enable each and every Namibian access to relevant financial, investment and banking instruments.
“The approval of a full banking license now allows us to implement our dream of establishing a new generation, inclusive banking institution,” said Kalondo on Tuesday this week. Kalondo, who is the Managing Director of Stimulus Private Equity and also an executive of Pointbreak, said she and her team have investigated various banking models, consulted a wide range of subject matter experts and the Namibian public to find a solution that is best suited for the Namibian market. “With the advances in technology, internet use and the high penetration rates of mobile telephony, it was clear to us that the EBank model is an appropriate solution for a market like ours and many other similar markets the world over,” said Kalondo.
According to newly introduced Chief Executive Officer of EBank and former assistant governor of the Bank of Namibia, Mike Mukete, the EBank will will be the first of its kind in Namibia, supported by a unique distribution network to ensure maximum reach and access. “New generation banking solutions rely on the innovative use of technology to meet the expectation of clients for easy, safe and smart banking.
Through the innovations of our technical partners, the strategic guidance from the board and the operational excellence of the EBank team, I am confident that we have built a market relevant banking model.”
Mukete explained that the EBank model will enable any Namibian, whether employed or unemployed, low-, middle- or high-income earners, young or old, banked or unbanked to access banking services anywhere, anytime. “It is worth mentioning that the EBank management team is now in place, and is 100 percent Namibian. The next phase of our roll-out is the piloting of transaction processing within a controlled environment at various partners’ premises. At the same time, we are also focusing on the integration of our systems into NAMCLEAR (Clearing House) that will allow us to be connected to other commercial banks,” said Mukete.
From a technological standpoint, the EBank has partnered with TYME, which stands for Take Your Money Everywhere. TYME is a market leader in the design, build and implementation of banking systems and platforms, which is evidenced by their partnership with MTN South Africa, where they successfully rolled out MTN Mobile Money. The EBanks currently includes Pointbreak Group Namibia with a 42.44 percent shareholding and TYME with 42.44 percent. The remaining 15.12 percent is owned by Monica Kalondo, Martin Shipanga and key management personnel. “The intention, over time, is for shareholders to further dilute to include more Namibians and staff,” remarked Kalondo. The Board of Directors of the EBank now include Dr John Steytler, Statistician General of Namibia, Yvonne Dausab, deputy Dean of the Law Faculty at the University of Namibia, Martin Shipanga, former Managing Director of Nedbank Namibia, Coenraad Jonker, CEO of TYME SA and Gerald Riedel, Executive Director of the EBank and a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in the financial services sector.