Justicia Shipena
Microlending institutions continue to top the list of non-compliant entities in the country’s non-banking financial sector, according to the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA)’s latest quarterly report.
The first quarter report for 2025 shows that 91.6% of all non-compliant institutions came from the microlending industry.
Issues ranged from late submission of regulatory returns, failure to pay levies, and ignoring inspection findings.
Out of 1,065 regulated entities, 107 were classified as Stage 5, meaning they were non-compliant.
In contrast, 625 entities, or 58.7%, were fully compliant and fell under Stage 1 of NAMFISA’s supervision framework.
Namfisa chief executive officer Kenneth Matomola said compliance levels varied across the sector but noted that overall performance remained strong in the first quarter.
During the same period, Namfisa received 110 consumer complaints, a 77.4% increase from the previous quarter.
Of these, 59% were linked to microlenders. Nearly 90% of all complaints were resolved, with over N$204,000 paid out to consumers.
The sector remained stable, with total assets reaching N$481.6 billion, up 1.6% from the previous quarter and 12.8% year-on-year. Long-term insurance assets stood at N$85 billion, with improved solvency despite fewer new policies.
Short-term insurance assets rose to N$9.9 billion, though solvency declined due to high claims.
Meanwhile, microlending loans totalled N$7.6 billion, despite a quarterly drop in disbursements.
Namfisa attributed the decline to having been driven by reduced loan disbursements and a lower number of new loans issued.
“Term-lender loans, which made up 93% of the total loan book, decreased by 7% quarter-on-quarter but grew by 10% year-on-year to N$7 billion.”
Namfisa said it remains optimistic about the sector’s outlook and continues to work with industry players to maintain a stable and inclusive financial environment.
A total of 831 microlenders were active during the period under review.
