By Emma Kakololo
WINDHOEK
Bank Windhoek and Stefan Ludik, well-known actor, musician and previous Big Brother Africa housemate, yesterday launched a new partnership aimed at educating Namibian youth on banking.
Ludik is also the bank’s ambassador for its Solo account which is designed for youth under the age of 18.
The Solo account was launched in the early 90s, but has been updated to keep up with the new demands of the youth.
To celebrate his partnership with the bank, Ludik produced a song titled ‘Solo’, which he performed on the balcony of Kalahari Sands Hotel in the capital, stunning onlookers.
“With this partnership, two big Namibian brands have come together,” said Marlize Horn, the bank’s Senior Manager of Marketing and Corporate Communication.
“Bank Windhoek is proud of its association with Stefan Ludik, which sees him as Bank Windhoek’s Solo Ambassador and educator of young people on banking and savings under the theme ‘Banking Buzz’,” she said.
Horn said Ludik was just the right role model to convey their message to the youth while his song would be incorporated into the bank’s Solo radio and television advertisements.
Ludik will visit schools around the country focussing on topics such as financial literacy, how a bank operates, why it is important to save, how to manage your pocket money and many more.
The Solo account is also not new to Ludik.
“My partnership with Bank Windhoek actually started at a very young age, when my parents opened a Solo account for me,” he said at the launch.
“I opened my very first bank account with them and since then, Bank Windhoek has supported me in all my ventures.”
Ludik was optimistic that he could bring change in the lives of the youth by educating them about banking.
“I can relate to the Namibian youth, because I was born here and grew up in Windhoek. I am an example of utilizing Bank Windhoek’s facilities and solutions in preparing for my aspirations and would like to share this message with young people all over Namibia. The sooner you start saving and banking, the better,” he said.
The new-look Solo account was launched on March 18 this year and includes benefits such as no monthly service fees charged and ATM withdrawal fees at Bank Windhoek ATMs.
Other benefits are a N$6 withdrawal fee at Saswitch ATMs; no limit on the amount of deposits or withdrawals per month; a Visa Electron Solo Debit card for 24-hour withdrawals and purchases at merchants displaying the VISA logo; debit and stop orders can be linked to the account; access to Internet banking; and access to all the features of cell phone banking.