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By the end of the second quarter of 2025, loans extended by microlenders in Namibia surged to N$1.5 billion—a 4.7% rise from the previous quarter and a 25.6% increase year-on-year, according to the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa). The growth was primarily fueled by increased disbursements from both term and payday lenders, with term lenders accounting for 59% of total disbursements and payday lenders making up the remaining 41%.
Namfisa reported that the overall value of the microlending sector’s loan book climbed to N$7.8 billion, reflecting a 2.8% increase from the first quarter of 2025 and a 6.9% rise compared to the same period in 2024. Term loans, comprising 93% of the loan book, grew to N$7.2 billion—up 2.6% quarter-on-quarter.
The market continues to be dominated by three key players: Entrepo Finance, Letshego Micro Financial Services (Namibia), and Old Mutual Finance (Term), which together hold 75.7% of all industry loans.
Household participation in microlending also rose, with 241,369 individuals involved—marking a 34% increase from Q2 2024, despite a 6.9% drop from the previous quarter. Term borrowers continued to outnumber payday borrowers during this period.
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The number of new loans issued rose to 179,519, a 1.8% quarterly and 3.2% annual increase. Payday lenders issued the bulk of these (85%), while term lenders handled the rest (15%). Namfisa attributed the growth in the sector’s loan book to both higher loan disbursements and an increase in new loans issued.
