An investigation of access to financial services by micro enterprises in open markets in Windhoek

Access to financial services by micro enterprises has long been regarded by the government as an important developmental tool. Poor access to financial services can hamper proper development of small and micro enterprises. Financial services encompass access to banks, which includes access to savings products, loans and operational bank accounts as well as access to insurance products. The study focused not only on the financing part but also on other products, such as savings products and insurance products enjoyed by micro traders. The research followed a quantitative and qualitative approach. Questionnaires were administered and interviews were conducted with the respondents. Interviews were also conducted with financial institutions to obtain a supply side view. 139 questionnaires were prepared and 108 were received back, this represented 15% male and 85% female respondents. The results suggest that 92% of the respondents have access to banks and Nampost Bank, and are therefore formally included, whereas only 8% of the respondents are excluded, meaning that they do not have bank accounts at all. However the study showed that the traders in open markets do not have access to insurance products. Only 1% of respondents had access to insurance services. Interviews with financial institutions also revealed that there are products specifically tailored for micro traders such as micro loans and SME cheque accounts. From the study it is observed that none of the respondents have access to informal or semiformal financial products. The conclusion of the study is that although some progress has been made with regard to access by micro-traders to banking services, much need to be done in terms of access to insurance services.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Namibia

Year dc:date.issued

2017

Author dc:creator

• Gamses, Clareta

• Financial services

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11070/2464

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.unam.edu.na:11070/2464