By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Hnagala
Only 58% of the 958 registered microlenders were fully compliant with regulatory provisions by the end of last year, according to NAMFISA.
According to the latest quarterly report, which covers the last three months of 2025, the microlenders who handle a loan book of N$7.5 billion are dominating non-compliance according to Namfisa’s compliance ladder.
The ladder consists of 5 stages, with stage 5 being non-compliant.
The compliance ladder shows that of the 5.2% (62 out of the total number of registered entities) of the non-compliant institutions, 85.5% of them were microlenders.
According to the NAMFISA assessment, the non-compliance of microlenders in Stages 4 and 5 ordinarily pertains to the non-submission of returns and the non-payment of levies.
The regulator has also noted a history of non-compliance (i.e., the failure to respond to inspection findings and the failure to implement remedial actions that have emanated from inspections and dormancy) in regulated NBFI entities.
Namfisa has also revealed that, under the Microlending Act, they have issued two Notices of Intention to Impose Penalties to two registered entities for non-compliance.
All registered microlenders are required to submit their Quarterly Financial and Statistical Return within 30 calendar days after the last day of each quarter.
The regulator has also penalized two registered entities for non-compliance during the period.
The applicable penalties were determined in accordance with the Penalty Regulations as set out in Government Gazette No. 324, published on 14 October 2022. The penalties amounted to N$60,915.28.
Upon invitation from NAMFISA, the entities submitted written representations, which are currently under consideration prior to a final determination being made.
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