National Youth Development Fund: Apply Anytime, No Closing Date

Rudolf Gaiseb The Ministry of Finance has pronounced the National Youth Development Fund no longer has a closing date. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis. This is due to a heightened interest in the fund. “We’ve picked up quite a number of people who would want to apply. In December already, we made a second call, and during that call, we indicated that there will be no more closing date,” ministry spokesperson Wilson Shikoto told New Era. He added moving forward, successful applicants will be announced every month. “The Development Finance Institution (DFI) is assisting the ministry in facilitating the process of due diligence on the applications. So, we are looking at announcing the names every month. But then, obviously, it’s not starting at the end of January,” he said. Crucially, the ministry advises applicants to take their time in applying and not rush. “Do proper work. Get your business plan in order and your financial projection. Fill in all the requirements that are needed. Get everything in order so that you can make your application. Do not rush and just submit things for the sake of submitting. Make sure that what you are submitting is innovative, is a very good idea, and is a bankable business, etc., so that your application will be successful,” he urged. Furthermore, for unsuccessful applicants, individual feedback will be provided by sending all unsuccessful applications back to the governor’s office. “We wanted to finalise all the first-phase applications and just send it all at once. We’re just waiting for one DFI to finalise. So that probably from mid-February to the end of February, we will be finalising those and be able to have it at the governor’s office. The governors’ offices will then distribute the application to individual applicants, said Shikoto. The National Youth Development Fund is a development fund established to provide financial and technical support to youth through loans with interest between 2% and 4%. The fund bolsters youth-owned businesses, startups, cooperatives, and innovative projects in various sectors of the economy, with priorities in agriculture and agro-processing, green and eco-friendly projects, as well as manufacturing and value addition. Namibians aged 18 – 45 years are required to submit a Namibian ID (certified copy), a business or cooperative registration certificate (certified copy), a business plan and financial projections, proof of business address (where applicable) and a bank account confirmation letter. Application forms and project submissions can be submitted at your nearest regional governor’s office, Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), Environment Investment Fund (EIF), and Agribank offices. In retrospect, this publication reported last year that 42 young Namibians were selected as the first beneficiaries of the newly launched National Youth Fund (NYF). The government committed N$500 million toward youth development, of which N$257 million is allocated for the 2025/26 financial year. Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare launched the Fund last September in Gobabis, Omaheke region. Ngurare highlighted at the time that transparency and accountability will guide the implementation. Moreover, the pilot phase of the programme, which ran from 1 August to 4 September 2025, attracted 11 475 applications from all regions. Of these, 6 111 projects were assessed by the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), 5 070 agricultural proposals by Agribank and 294 eco-friendly projects by the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF). Subsequently, towards the end of November, the second group (66) of young individuals was successfully selected, securing over N$37 million in funding for entrepreneurial ventures.