NBFIRA participates in the Southern African Regional Conference on Factoring and Receivables Finance
The Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) participated in the recent “Regional conference on Factoring and Receivables Finance in Southern Africa,” held in Gaborone on 12th -13th March, 2019. Factors Chain International (FCI) and Afreximbank hosted the regional conference which explored factoring from a regional perspective.
Factoring plays an important role in an economy through turning the receivables instantly into cash and by also providing credit protection for the receivables. Factoring is still in its infancy in most African markets. It was noted that the key challenges faced by the factoring sector include lack of specific legislation for the sector and lack of awareness on what factors entails.
In Botswana, the focus is on domestic factoring rather than international factoring. Mr. Mothusi Kebalefetse, Deputy Director- Lending Activities at NBFIRA participated in the panel discussion on the “Legal and Regulatory environment of factoring in Africa.” Kebalefetse stated that draft regulations have been developed for financing companies and the regulations will encompass prudential and market conduct regulatory components. These will address issues of governance, capital requirements, disclosure of cost of borrowing, maintenance of records and the display of customer rights and responsibilities. Kebalefetse further added that entities that currently offer factoring services in Botswana operate with an exemption license issued by NBFIRA.
The discussions during the conference, covered the World of Factoring, Cross-border factoring opportunities for the Southern African Region and factoring in Africa. Attendees were given the opportunity to discuss issues of common interest. The conference offered attendees a unique opportunity to discuss the current state of the factoring industry by assessing new challenges and products as well as market developments. It also provided a constructive networking platform for players within the factoring industry as well as for those in the financial services sector from across the region.
