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Washington, D.C. / Windhoek, Namibia, September 21, 2010—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing an 80 million South African rand ($10.9 million) loan to Namibia’s Trustco Finance Limited to help the microlender increase its lending to students and for teacher training, improving access to education and raising education standards in Namibia.
IFC’s investment will help Trustco double its student lending program in five years, allowing more students in Namibia to benefit from a post-secondary education. Trustco will also provide more loans to teachers, who will use the funds to enroll in teaching training courses to improve their skills.
IFC’s loan is backed by advisory services support that will help the Trustco Group improve its corporate governance.
Quinton van Rooyen, Managing Director, Trustco Group Holdings, said, “We are ready to take student lending to a new level and accelerate the growth of our program with IFC’s support. The project will help reduce the number of post-secondary students dropping out of university because they cannot afford to pay tuition fees.”
Oscar Chemerinski, IFC Regional Industry Director, said, “The project will increase access to tertiary education among low- and middle-income students, particularly those living in rural areas, thereby raising employment prospects and living standards for lower-income individuals.”
IFC is the world’s largest multilateral investor in the private health and education sectors in emerging markets and puts a high priority on supporting the education sector in Africa.
Note to Editors:
Caption: IFC and Trustco officials sign an ZAR 80 million loan transaction at IFC's Johannesburg Office on September 21, 2010. (Left to right: Saleem Karimjee, IFC Country Manager for Southern Africa; Quinton van Rooyen, Managing Director, Trustco Group Holdings; and Floors Abrahams, Group Finance Director, Trustco Group Holdings.)
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About Trustco
Trustco provides educational loans to students enrolled with the Institute of Open Learning, Namibia’s largest private, open, and distance learning institution offering certificate, diploma, and degree courses in education, business, and information technology. Trustco Finance Limited and the Institute of Open Learning are wholly owned subsidiaries of Trustco Group Holdings, a financing services and education group listed on the Namibian and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges. For more information, visit
www.tgi.na
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