FNB’S E1M TO FUND START-UP BUSINESSES IN ESWATINI

MBABANE – Are you an aspiring entrepreneur with neither capital nor assets to place as collateral to secure funding? The bank of ‘firsts’ has a solution for you.  

True to their commitment to push a holistic transformative agenda that ultimately seeks to mutate the ailing Eswatini economy for the better, First National Bank (FNB) has revealed that it will soon launch a revolving fund, where future entrepreneurs with innovative ideas will receive start-up capital.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dennis Mbingo disclosed that they had received approval from the FNB Foundation to finance a revolving fund for start-ups to the tune of E1 million as an initial offering, which could be increased in the near future.

Presentation

Speaking during the launch of the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (EYA) sponsorship presentation, where the bank has also increased its funding by E150 000 from E300 000 in 2017 to E450 000 for the current year, Mbingo said the bank was ecstatic to announce that its dream to provide start-up capital for visionary and aspiring entrepreneurs would eventually see the light of day.

Mbingo said as a financial institution that provides credit to both individuals and businesses, they were fully cognisant of both the emotional and physical strength that one needs to exude before they could successfully establish a business through credit financing. He explained that they had noted that most emaSwati, especially in the rural areas, would love to operate successful businesses but do not have the necessary resources, which include but not limited to, assets which may be placed as collateral in order to be granted credit.

Encourage

“Through the revolving fund, whose funding is valued at E1 million and has been approved by the FNB foundation, we want to encourage more start-ups in the country and also push the innovation agenda which will propel the country towards attainment of the vision to become a First World country by 2022,” said Mbingo, much to the applause of senior delegates who were at the Swaziland Enterprise Development Company (SEDCO) boardroom for the EYA sponsorship presentation yesterday.

Further, Mbingo mentioned that it was strongly envisaged that the revolving fund would greatly help towards the improvement of financial inclusion in the kingdom. On the same note, he said as a bank they were happy to learn that their products such as the Automated Deposit Teller (ADT) were being fully utilised by their customers, especially in rural areas.

“I would like to take this opportunity and encourage more businesses and individuals to continue maximising on the economic benefits that come with utilising our cost-effective electronic banking platforms,” Mbingo emphasised.   

         
 The CEO said they would soon issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) from interested entities that could successfully administer the fund.
“Our hands are open to other foundations which may be interested in being partners of the revolving fund,” mentioned Mbingo.

Proud

SEDCO Managing Director (MD) Dorrington Matiwane said as an organisation that encounters the dire need for more funding facilities to cater for start-ups on a daily basis, they were extremely proud of FNB for having come up with this superb initiative. Matiwane said he was confident that more emaSwati could soon tap into their business potentials without having to worry much about where they could get funding.

“We are more than grateful to FNB for having come up with the idea to establish a revolving fund for start-ups. This move will go a long way in terms of inculcating the culture of entrepreneurship at Eswatini,” said Matiwane.

FNB Head of Marketing Zethu Dlamini said more details as to how the revolving fund will be manned, who will be eligible to enter and how much will be provided to each individual, will be published in the media in due course.

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