Limpopo Business 2016-17 edition
The 2016/17 edition of Limpopo Business is the eighth issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2007, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the Limpopo province. Limpopo is unique in terms of its abundant natural and human resources, and is also one of the key drivers behind the South African economy. This edition of Limpopo Business is officially endorsed by the Office of the Premier of Limpopo.
The 2016/17 edition of Limpopo Business is the eighth issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2007, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the Limpopo province.
Limpopo is unique in terms of its abundant natural and human resources, and is also one of the key drivers behind the South African economy.
This edition of Limpopo Business is officially endorsed by the Office of the Premier of Limpopo.
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OVERVIEW<br />
Banking and financial services<br />
<strong>Limpopo</strong> is a rural province and so the challenge of getting formal banking services to the<br />
population are greater than in most other provinces.<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
Farmers can get access to finance<br />
through NTK and Afgri.<br />
• Capitec has massively<br />
expanded its <strong>Limpopo</strong><br />
branch network.<br />
• Most of South Africa’s<br />
banks have linked up with<br />
cellphone companies.<br />
The “Big Four” banks–Nedbank, Standard Bank, Absa and FNB<br />
are active in <strong>Limpopo</strong> province.<br />
Relative newcomer in the retail banking sector, Capitec, seems<br />
to be working harder than most on building infrastructure in<br />
<strong>Limpopo</strong>. In 2012 the bank had 40 branches in the province; as of March<br />
<strong>2016</strong> there were 59 branches/ATMS. This included the small town of<br />
Swartklip (population 3 5<strong>17</strong>, according to Wikipedia), although there<br />
is a mine in the area. Capitec is clearly not convinced that cellphones<br />
are the only way to increase its client base.<br />
In the same month Capitec came out top of the world in a new<br />
global banking survey (Bank Quality Ratings) compiled by international<br />
banking advisory group Lafferty. In 2015 the bank had 6.7-million<br />
clients, up from 3.7-million just three years earlier, and it has 11 000<br />
employees.<br />
The two most active agricultural companies in <strong>Limpopo</strong> are both<br />
registered to participate in the financial sector. NTK, a subsidiary of the<br />
Free State-based VKB, has access to lending for farmers and insurance<br />
products. Afgri offers the same services under the brand Unigro, and it<br />
has another service called Gro Capital Financial Services, which offers<br />
more sophisticated products such as trade finance, foreign exchange<br />
and currency and interest rate hedging.<br />
<strong>Limpopo</strong> has its own bank,<br />
VBS Mutual Bank, which grew<br />
out of the Venda Building Society<br />
and operates mainly in the northern<br />
parts of the province. The<br />
Public Investment Corporation<br />
holds 34% equity. The head office<br />
is in Makhado and the credit<br />
department operates out of<br />
Thohoyandou.<br />
Reaching the unbanked<br />
Finscope’s 2014 survey of South<br />
African banking and financial<br />
surveys shows that between<br />
2004 and 2014 a remarkable<br />
eight-million people were connected<br />
to the financial system<br />
in some way. Overall, the<br />
“financially included” reached<br />
31.4-million (up from <strong>17</strong>.7-million<br />
in 2004). In a category called<br />
“formally served” which includes<br />
services other than formal banks<br />
LIMPOPO BUSINESS <strong>2016</strong>/<strong>17</strong><br />
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