AgriBank goes mobile
Taking agricultural banking to the regions
With the view to create financial inclusion and increased accessibility, Agribank announced the introduction of its Branch-on-Wheels – an initiative aimed at taking the bank’s services closer to its clients as from February this year.The Branch-on-Wheels will be deployed as follows:
• 5 - 9 February: Tsumeb
• 19- 23 February: Opuwo
• 3 - 5 March: Karasburg
• 7 - 8 March Bethanie
• 17 - 19 March: Gochas
Operating hours are from 08:00 to 17:30 in the respective areas.
According to the Bank’s Executive: Sales, Hildegardt Martin, “the Branch-on-Wheels concept aspires to extend Agribank services to customers in areas with no Agribank branch, as clients in such areas find it hard to reach our physical branches that are only found in selected towns.
“Therefore, the Branch-on-Wheels will go to the customer, breaking geographical barriers that hamper farmers/clients to access funding from Agribank, in order to realize their farming potential.”
Martin assured the public that “the bank takes this initiative very seriously and will ensure that the entire country is covered by assigning a Branch-on-Wheels team for each of their eight branches. By doing so, the bank expects to reach a wider customer base in remotest towns, at the convenience of the customer.”
On his part, Agribank’s Manager: Marketing and Communication, Rino Muranda, encouraged clients to engage bank staff in the scheduled areas/towns, who will be accepting loan applications, handling general enquiries and information sharing, printing statements, sharing updates on loan applications status, as well as granting loan approvals where possible.
“Agribank offers competitive fixed interest rates as low as 4% for some loan products (communal, labourer houses in commercial areas) and we provide flexible repayment options often based on the cashflow of the agri-enterprise while also offering extended loan repayment periods resulting in affordable instalments,” Muranda said.
For more information on the Branch-on-Wheels, contact 061 207 4356 or visit www.agribank.com.na