NDB eyes StretPasin livelihood projects

By SHIRLEY MAULUDU

THE National Development Bank (NDB) will launch in June several activities of the StretPasin Business Scheme (SPBS), managing director Moses Liu said.
He said they were working on several projects and would announce the names of the shortlisted candidates out of more than 4,000 loan applicants to participate in the livelihood scheme.
Liu said: “We have narrowed the list down to 200 for the first batch and the other 4,000 would be considered later.
He said the chosen 200 would sit for a business exam and NDB would make sure that those who qualified were chosen transparently based on their skills in mathematics and others.
Liu said the other process would be training and this would involve about 20 from the 200 earlier shortlisted, who would undergo hands-on training in business planning.
Acting CEO NDB Investment Ltd Desmond Yaninen said those applicants who passed stage one of eligibility process would  proceed to the second stage, which is the credit worthiness check.
Here, the shortlisted candidates would have to proceed to NDB branch to fill out authority forms of credit checking.
Applicants with favourable ratings would proceed to sit for the entry examination, which is step 3. 
“The top 5% would proceed to step 4, which is actual training and the successful candidates would get theoretical and practical instructions to prepare for their own businesses.”
Yaninen said upon its completion, they will proceed to step 5, which is business management in which candidates would be awarded businesses to operate under the StretPasin Business Scheme over a period required to fully repay the startup costs incurred by NDB Investment Ltd. (NDBIL).
“The final step is the transfer of ownership, in which NDB hands over 100% ownership of business to managers upon repaying the establishment costs (of the business),” Yaninen said.