The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) has announced it has provided N$72,9 million in finance for two new private Gymnasium schools to be built at Ongwediva and Walvis Bay.
This is another addition to the bank’s history of financing schools, health facilities and environmentally beneficial initiatives, such as recycling.
DBN outgoing chief executive Martin Inkumbi says in addition to the bank’s commitment to financing larger social enterprises, the schools will provide 160 temporary employment opportunities during their construction, and several permanent jobs thereafter.
He says the schools’ needs would be catered for by regional and national small and medium enterprises.
Describing the impact on the Oshana region, Inkumbi says the school would instil a love for and appreciation of the region and its potential in pupils.
He says he hopes this would lead them to complete their education and return to the region to participate in and grow the regional economy.
Inkumbi says the availability of additional space in private sector schools would make the Oshana region an attractive residential area for the parents of schoolgoing children, thereby adding to the pool of professionals participating in growing the regional economy.
He says Walvis Bay will become a hub for Namibia’s future energy and other industries.
This would require engineers, managers, scientists, technicians, project planners and leaders.
By shaping young minds, the Walvis Bay Gymnasium school would become part of Namibia’s and the Erongo region’s future.
He challenges the Gymnasiums to extend their influence in their regions by sharing knowledge and best educational practices with educators in the regions.
Inkumbi also challenges the schools to provide educational scholarships to gifted pupils who do not have the means to attend private schools.
He says the bank recently inaugurated its sustainable finance framework and says the bank will launch its first sustainability bond in the near future.
This would represent an opportunity for investors to earn returns from finance for environmentally and socially beneficial enterprises.
The Gymnasium schools at Oshana and Walvis Bay are examples of the type of projects that would benefit from the bond, he says.
Inkumbi says the bank returns a portion of its earnings to provide schools that do not qualify for finance with the means to repair and improve their facilities as part of its corporate social investment.
– email: bottomline@namibian.com.na
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