Message from the CEO
Greetings to all our regular readers, and a warm welcome to those of you joining us for the first time in this edition of the Consumer Education Bulletin (CEB).
To all consumers of financial services and products, I wish to express my sincere appreciation for your continued interest and engagement. Your positive feedback, particularly the testimonials featured on pages 6 and 7, is a clear sign that the CEB is making a meaningful impact—and for that, we at NAMFISA are truly grateful. Our core aim with consumer education is to reach and empower individuals across all 14 regions of Namibia, equipping them with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions and take responsibility for their own financial well-being. This includes understanding your rights and responsibilities as consumers in relation to financial service providers—a message we continue to promote through public awareness campaigns such as “Know Your Rights.”
We believe that informed consumers play a vital role in driving competition within the financial services sector. Better-informed decisions encourage providers to innovate and design products that are tailored to consumers’ evolving needs. This, in turn, supports our broader goal of Financial Inclusion, which ensures that:
To all consumers of financial services and products, I wish to express my sincere appreciation for your continued interest and engagement. Your positive feedback, particularly the testimonials featured on pages 6 and 7, is a clear sign that the CEB is making a meaningful impact—and for that, we at NAMFISA are truly grateful. Our core aim with consumer education is to reach and empower individuals across all 14 regions of Namibia, equipping them with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions and take responsibility for their own financial well-being. This includes understanding your rights and responsibilities as consumers in relation to financial service providers—a message we continue to promote through public awareness campaigns such as “Know Your Rights.”
We believe that informed consumers play a vital role in driving competition within the financial services sector. Better-informed decisions encourage providers to innovate and design products that are tailored to consumers’ evolving needs. This, in turn, supports our broader goal of Financial Inclusion, which ensures that:
- Everyone who can use financial services has access to them;
- A full suite of quality financial services is available;
- Services are affordable;
- They are delivered in a convenient manner; and
- They are provided with dignity and respect for the client.
According to the 2013 Baseline Survey conducted by the Financial Literacy Initiative (FLI), many consumer decisions are driven by emotion or intuition rather than knowledge or sound advice. Behavioural influences, socio-economic conditions, cultural background, and life experiences all shape how people make financial choices. In light of this, we’ve included a feature on Compulsive Buying in this edition to shed light on its causes and effects.
Additionally, in support of financial access and resilience, we’ve provided simple savings tips for consumers who earn income on a daily basis. We hope these practical tools will be useful in your financial journey.
As always, we thank you for reading and sharing the Consumer Education Bulletin. May this edition be both insightful and empowering.
Phillip N. Shiimi
CEO, NAMFISA
As always, we thank you for reading and sharing the Consumer Education Bulletin. May this edition be both insightful and empowering.
Phillip N. Shiimi
CEO, NAMFISA