By: Nghiinomenwa Hangala
From January to July 2026, the business community has borrowed N$2.2 billion from commercial banks.
This is lower than the N$2.8 billion borrowed at the same time last year, according to the monetary and financial statistics, which show transactions of the banking sector in Namibia, as compiled by the Bank of Namibia.
Business borrowing is part of the Private Sector Credit Extension indicator, which is tracked every month by the central bank, giving insights into the economy and the confidence of the business community.
High business borrowing is interpreted as business confidence in the economic prospects. Thus, enterprises borrow more to fund their expansions or strengthen their production.
Debt funding is one of the options businesses utilise to fund their operations, expansions, and acquisitions of equipment and other assets.
The seven months of borrowing for 2026 has, however, been a mixed bag. Business borrowing has been categorised into Mortgage Loans, Other Loans & Advances, Overdraft and Instalment, and Leasing.
There were only four months in which the business community borrowed more than they paid off. In the other months, they paid off their debts more than they borrowed.
In the seven month period, enterprises have only borrowed half a billion twice in a given month, while the rest of the months’ monthly borrowing was below half a billion.
Compared to the same period last year, all monthly borrowings were over half a billion.
Monthly growth in business lending has never grown by more than 1.5%. Moreover, the 7-month figure is also boosted by one month’s borrowing (June),
where businesses borrowed N$903.4 million.
The only close month was April 2026, when enterprises borrowed N$542.7 million.
According to the Central Bank’s insights, in July 2026, business credit growth slowed in July 2026, thus contributing to the lower growth in overall PSCE.
Annual credit growth extended to the corporate sector stood at 3.7% during the month under review, lower than the 4.5% of June 2026.
The moderation in business credit growth was on account of lower uptake and net repayments in overdrafts, mortgages, instalment and leasing, as well as other loans and advances by corporates in the manufacturing, fishing, agriculture, wholesale and retail, financial services, and the energy, oil, and petroleum sectors.
According to the central bank, the slow credit uptake is attributed to subdued economic activities, with property financing slowing down more compared to other categories. “Domestic private sector credit growth was lagging behind consumer price inflation, suggesting a slowdown in domestic activity,” the central bank said.
As of the end of July, the business community has borrowed N$52.4 billion from the commercial banks.
Other loans and advances dominate, with N$20.3 billion extended to businesses through this category.
