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Promotion of Business Advisory and Transformation Services (ProBATS)’ is a GIZ-program with two components, Financial Sector Development (FSD), and SME- Development. ProBATS has been supporting development and implementation of Namibia’s SME-Finance-Strategy, which comprises of three facilities: Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS); Mentoring & Coaching Program (MCP) and a Venture Capital Fund.
In July 2018, the government asked DBN to host these three facilities and it accepted by board-decision. In the course of 2019, DBN first operationalized the CGS and provision of guarantees for SME-loans of commercial banks in Namibia will commence early 2020.
The MCP will provide mentoring and/or coaching to SME-borrowers of DBN and of banks who have taken out guarantees from the CGS.
In the first half of the project, AFC supports DBN to operationalize the MCP, including drafting / updating of governance structure, operational model, guidelines, procedures, tools, monitoring & evaluation framework and manual.
In the second half of the project, AFC supports DBN in building the pool of mentors, deliver standardization training to the mentors and pilot-test the mentoring process (‘products’) based on the above model and procedures.
Services provided inculde, but are not limited to:
1) Comparative Analysis of the existing DBN Mentoring Program, in lieu with other such programs, e. g. GIZ’s Business-Loop. The analysis is based on both documents, e. g. DBN client support policy, and on interviews with internal (staff of different DBN-departments) and external (BDS-providers, commercial banks, mentors, etc.) stakeholders. One of the stakeholders is Bank of Namibia.
2) Review possible synergies as well as boundaries between the MCP under the SME-Finance Strategy and the ‘Skilled-Youth-Program’ that DBN shall offer (on behalf of the Namibian Government)
3) Create the concept that describes the contents, methods, modes and process of delivering mentoring and coaching to specified target segments
4) Develop the operational manual for - specifying the different packages of learning interventions, i. e. methods and modes of mentoring and training/coaching to be offered - identifying and selecting the mentors - identifying and selecting the SMEs to be offered mentoring a/o coaching (‘trigger a mentoring & coaching loop) - define the time period(s) over which structured combinations of learning interventions will be provided, starting with a capacity & needs assessment of the SME-operator (=mentee)
5) Develop the training manual and materials to train the mentors and to assure the quality of their delivery
6) Assist in the first provision of the mentors’ training
7) Structure and oversee the pilot-test of the learning interventions across the defined time period; and guide the process of adjusting them as the pilot suggests
8) As part of the final report, discuss options for institutionalizing the management functions of the MCP (e. g. option of outsourcing the whole process for a specific target segment, etc.)