VBS Mutual Bank understands nuances of business in rural towns
VBS Mutual Bank, better known for granting President Jacob Zuma a loan to cover his liabilities at his Nkandla homestead, on Thursday received unlikely praise for the way it conducted business in rural communities. The author of Kasinomics: African Informal Economies and the People who Inhabit them in Joburg, GG Alcock, said big business that took a Western approach to doing business often did not succeed due to a lack of appreciating the social and cultural norms in townships. Alcock was speaking at the enterprise and supplier development conference, at the Riversands Incubation Hub in Midrand. He said where banks might not be willing to provide loans to people in rural and township communities, VBS Mutual Bank had shown understanding of the nuances of doing business in these places. The bank gave loans to those who wanted to extend or build homes in rural areas and in the townships, on the basis that because their homes and communities had sentimental value, debtors would pay back...
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