The Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank) opened a new office in Grootfontein on Friday as part of its on-going client-centric strategy. The Bank has a continuous strategic objective of providing access to a wider client base, through both physical offices and the use of online services.
Three years ago, Agribank opened an office in Gobabis, Omaheke region and towards the end of last year, it relocated its office in the Zambezi region, based in Katima Mulilo, to new and more customer-friendly premises.
In the 2021/22 financial year, the bank has budgeted to renovate its Otjiwarongo and Rundu offices, also to improve customer experience and service delivery at every level of contact.
At Friday’s occasion Governor of Otjozondjupa region James Uerikua applauded Agribank for establishing a branch office in Grootfontein given the agriculture sector’s crucial contribution towards the Namibian economy.
The agricultural sector is currently the country’s largest employer despite a sustained economic recession over the past five years.
While the Covid-19 pandemic poses some serious challenges to Namibia’s food sustainability in the short term, Uerikua said there is an opportunity to accelerate transformation in the agricultural sector to improve its resilience in the face of mounting challenges.
“It is against this setting that I consider the opening of the Grootfontein office as an important step towards unlocking the agricultural growth potential offered by the Otjozondjupa region, since this region, particularly the Maize Triangle Area, is known for relatively high rainfall and endowment with groundwater resources required for improving agricultural productivity…. I thus congratulate the board and all Agribankers respectively for their vision to bring services closer to the agricultural communities and for implementing this vision. What an outstanding achievement in the midst of tough economic and climatic environments,” Uerikua stated.
He added that government expects state-owned enterprises to be managed on a financially sustainable basis whilst providing much-needed goods and services to all Namibians, irrespective of where they live.
“I am fully aware of the positive achievements which Agribank has been making over the past five years,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Agribank board, Peyavali Hangula described the opening of the new office in Grootfontein as a yet another milestone in the Bank’s journey towards customer excellence, as it enables the bank to expand its reach, and improve its accessibility to clients and stakeholders nationally. She said the Otjozondjupa region is an important farming region in the country, which balances both livestock and crop production, making it equally important to Agribank, whose mandate is to support agriculture through funding.
“It is against this backdrop that we felt it necessary to increase our footprint in this region. Today, we gathered in Grootfontein to open our second office in the Otjozondjupa region.”