Lesotho PostBank issued a press release last week unveiling what it described as a major national intervention. A three hundred million maloti Inclusive Growth Facility intended to expand access to finance, drive entrepreneurship, and prioritise youth and women. It had the language of ambition. It had the tone of a country shifting gears toward inclusive economic participation.
But what it did not have was the one thing any bank-led initiative must have. A product.
The absence of basic information has triggered serious concerns about whether the Inclusive Growth Facility exists in any operational form beyond political messaging. And the events of the past two days have only deepened that concern.
A Press Release Without a Product Behind It
Lesotho PostBank’s statement promised affordable credit. It promised targeted inclusion. It promised a catalytic national facility. Yet the release provided no product definition. No term sheet. No financial structure. No eligibility framework. No indicative pricing. Not even a summary of the product design.
Lesotho Tribune asked Lesotho PostBank three direct questions that any bank with a developed financial instrument should answer instantly.
1. What exactly is the product?
Is it a term loan? Is it an overdraft facility? Is it a partial guarantee mechanism? Is it a blended finance tool? Is it a grant window? Is it an equity or quasi equity instrument similar to a venture fund as hinted in the 2025/2026 budget?
The Bank could not say.
2. What does the seventy percent allocation to youth and women actually mean?
Is it seventy percent of approved loans? Seventy percent of applications? Seventy percent of the money disbursed? Does it refer to pipeline, portfolio, or value?
No explanation was provided.
3. What specific barriers facing youth and women does this product solve?
Youth and women face real, documented financial exclusion issues. Weak credit profiles, limited collateral, informal record keeping, higher rejection rates, limited access to information.
Lesotho PostBank has not articulated which of these challenges the product addresses, nor how.
If a three hundred million maloti financial product exists, these details should already be in circulation.
A Sudden Ministerial Press Conference That Never Happened
On Monday (01 December 2025) a media invitation announced that the Minister of Finance and Development Planning and the Minister of Trade would hold a joint press conference to explain the implementation model of the Inclusive Growth Facility. It was highly unusual for Ministers to explain a PostBank product without PostBank present.
Even more unusual was that the press conference was abruptly cancelled without reasons.
Sources familiar with the matter told Lesotho Tribune that the briefing was hurriedly arranged in response to rising questions about the authenticity of the product. In other words, it was an attempt to steady the narrative.
It did not steady anything.
Lesotho PostBank Cannot Explain Its Own Announcement
Over two days of engagement with Lesotho Tribune, PostBank was unable to provide even a single page describing the product it publicly launched.
On Monday (yesterday) the Bank said it would respond.
On Tuesday (today) the Bank said the only person who knows the product is on leave.
When asked whether anyone else at the Bank could explain a three hundred million maloti initiative under their administration, the Bank said it would respond only after the Minister’s press conference scheduled for Wednesday.
This is not normal for a functioning financial institution.
A bank does not announce a national facility worth hundreds of millions without a product manual, credit guidelines, operational procedures, repayment terms, and risk controls. A bank does not issue a press release when it cannot answer entry level product questions. A bank does not require a Minister to clarify its own product.
Unless the product does not yet exist.
A Political Announcement Masquerading as a Financial Product
What is emerging is an uncomfortable picture. The announcement appears to have been made before the product was built. The press release carried political tone and strategic ambition, but lacked the technical foundation that transforms a government priority into a bankable financial instrument.
The Inclusive Growth Facility may eventually take shape. It may become a viable funding avenue. It may support youth and women entrepreneurs. But as of today, there is no evidence of an actual, fully designed financial product ready for public rollout.
If Lesotho PostBank had a real product, the Bank would have shared its brochure the moment it was requested.
What Basotho Deserve Tomorrow
The Minister’s press conference on Wednesday now carries significant weight. The public will not be looking for speeches. They will be expecting documentation.
A clear product definition.
A term sheet.
Eligibility criteria.
Risk assessment methodology.
Disbursement rules.
Sector priorities.
Loan pricing.
Grant or equity windows if they exist.
And clarity on how the seventy thirty allocation is enforced.
Anything less will confirm what many already suspect. That the Inclusive Growth Facility was launched as a public relations message rather than a ready product.
And that Lesotho PostBank issued a press release announcing something it cannot yet explain.
