Johannesburg - Democratising ownership is the primary aim of the upcoming NL Mutual Bank.
This is what the founder Nthabeleng Likotsi emphasised at the inaugural day to buy shares in the bank.
The launch took place on Tuesday after it was announced in March that the mutual bank would be established.
“Today is the day we call for citizens to go inwards to find solutions to our economic challenges,” said Likotsi.
The NL (Nthabeleng Likotsi) Mutual Bank’s vision is to be a leading African women-led bank that understands and services the needs of the unbanked, underserved and previously disadvantaged.
“As it is widely known, South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. Studies show the future of employment and economic growth is dependent on small, micro and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs), particularly those based in townships and rural dwellings where 90% of new jobs can be created. Thousands of innovative businesses fail to emerge with many SMMEs forced to close shop due to lack of financing to keep their businesses afloat.
“Financing of SMMEs has been an issue for many years and has held back the ambitions of entrepreneurs, particularly black entrepreneurs resulting in job losses,” said Likotsi.
She added that black people were losing jobs everyday and this resulted in millions of people being trapped in poverty and contributed to the stark inequalities that persist even after two decades of democracy.
Likotsi is the founder of the Young Women in Business Network (YWBN) and believes that the speed in which the country is able to create jobs will, in large part, be determined by the fortunes of SMMEs.
“The more tools and options they have at their disposal to support their financial situation and to achieve their goals, the better it is for this country.
“YWBN has set its sights on launching a digital mutual bank to meet the financing needs of these SMMEs. We believe we are uniquely capable of filling the gap, owing to the innate understanding of people's needs. We are black, we don’t have to research being black.
“Our plan is aimed at democratising ownership. We need to understand ownership. Our people don’t understand this. By building a strong financial institution with diverse ownership … that will be a catalyst for change in the financial sector. The success of our mutual bank will deracialise the financial sector and turn it into one that reflects the country’s demographics and works for all South Africans – it is a shame in a country where we are the majority we do not have representation.”
Likotsi said it was important to represent black women and to catalyse the township economy. “(We need to) boost SMME development to create tangible assets and traded activities to address despondent patterns of ownership, generate sustainable incomes and growth along inclusive equitable lines.”
She added that to achieve this goal, the launch of YWBN Own The Bank Share Scheme was essential.
“The scheme offers a unique opportunity for the public, particularly historically disadvantaged individuals and groups to own a piece of history. Building a mutual bank of their own from the ground up.”
Until the end of this month, the public has the opportunity to own up to 95 million shares giving them a shareholding of 90% of the bank.
The Star