Poverty Reduction through Access to Financial Services in Rural Areas of Namibia: A Case study of Omusati Region

Poverty is one of the leading challenges that stunt economic development in rural areas of Namibia. Several researchers have suggested that poverty is closely related to access to financial services. Despite many interventions that have been proposed to address poverty in Namibia, more efforts still need to be made to reduce poverty. Poverty rate is still high especially in rural areas. High employment rates, low level of education and inadequate financial institutions are some of the determinants of poverty in Namibia. This study investigated how accessibility to financial services is linked to poverty alleviation in rural areas of Namibia with a special focus on two villages; Onheleiwa and Onelago in Omusati Region by sampling fifty respondents from each village. There are several requirements which are needed by the rural poor to have access to financial services such as educational qualifications, fixed payslips, collateral and business plan were identified as obstacles that hinder access to financial services in rural areas. As a result of these factors, majority of the respondents revealed that they do not meet the requirements to access financial services from institutions such as banks for enterprise innovations. Consequently, poverty remains a serious concern