By: Justicia Shipena

The Bank of Namibia (BoN) this week concluded a visit to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), in its ongoing pursuit of digital transformation for the central bank and modernisation of the financial sector to achieve higher levels of financial inclusion.

The visit was aimed at enhancing the BoN’s capacity to effectively manage financial risks emanating from new forms of money and promote financial inclusion in Namibia through digital financial services.

The central bank said its digital transformation agenda is gaining momentum with investments in systems and platforms to support digitisation for increased operational efficiency in the last year.

“Business units are reaping the benefits of enhanced efficiency due to the digitalisation and automation of business processes,”BoN’s Principal for International Relations and Sustainability Naufiku Hamunime said.

The central bank recently launched an Automated Regulatory Reporting System for regulated entities in the banking, exchange control, and payment provision areas.

Hamunime said during the visit the delegation from BoN had the opportunity to learn from successful initiatives undertaken by the CBK in financial sector transformation and deepening,

She said the two central banks also deliberated on emerging technologies, such as Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, and other virtual assets.

“These novel innovations will require central banks to collaborate closely to enact relevant policies that strike a balance between embracing innovation and safeguarding financial stability,” she pointed out.

“Digital transformation is a key strategic priority for the Bank of Namibia to modernise the financial sector further and achieve higher levels of financial inclusion,” she explained.

Hamunime said the visit to Kenya provided valuable insights into the successful initiatives of the CBK. “They will be used to improve policies and practices to serve the Namibian people in this regard better. The engagement represented an important opportunity for mutual learning between the two central banks, especially in fulfilling their respective price and financial sector stability mandates,” she said.

She said the central bank will continue to explore opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing with other central banks in the African continent to enhance its policy framework and support sustainable economic growth in Namibia.

Meanwhile, BoN Governor Johannes !Gawaxab stated that Kenya is well known for its financial services democratisation agenda, adding that through its digital innovations, it has achieved a financial inclusion rate of 84%, which is higher than Namibia’s financial inclusion rate of 78%.

“They have managed to do so by providing an enabling environment that has unleashed the entrepreneurial talent and ingenuity of the Kenyan people. These lessons are crucial as we develop our new Financial Sector Strategy underpinned by a reform agenda with Namibians playing a larger role in ownership and management of our financial services institutions,”!Gawaxab concluded.