Kenneth Matambo, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning of Botswana, has reportedly approved a set of microfinance regulations including a mandate that non-financial institutions, individuals and companies that participate in microlending must register with the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) and apply for a formal license.
A second regulation requires microlending institutions to immediately discontinue the practice of requesting borrowers’ personal identification numbers for their bank cards and stop taking possession of borrowers’ official documents. Accordingly, any such documents currently in the possession of microlenders must be returned to borrowers. NBFIRA may enforce unspecified penalties in the event that a lender does not comply with this regulation.
By Charlotte Newman, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources:
The Botswana Gazette: “Regulating Micro Lending in Botswana,” http://www.gazettebw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12986:regulating-micro-lending-in-botswana&catid=21:columns&Itemid=2
MicroCapital.org story, October 7, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Government of Botswana to Stop Facilitating Repayment of Microfinance Loans by Civil Servants,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-government-of-botswana-to-stop-facilitating-repayment-of-microfinance-loans-by-civil-servants/
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