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DBSA Contact Details

Verified 6 September 2026Updated 6 October 2026Official source onlyIndependent directoryPublished by Silas T Nkoana, Cape TownReport a wrong number

The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) switchboard is on 011 313 3911, with reception on 011 313 3500, at 1258 Lever Road, Headway Hill, Midrand. The bank is a development finance institution, not a retail bank: it does not open accounts, issue cards or lend to individuals, and most calls it receives from the public are in the wrong place. If you want funding for an infrastructure project, use the bank’s enquiry form and its Apply for Funding route rather than the switchboard.

DBSA contact details at a glance

Dialled locally those are 011 313 3911, 011 313 3500 and 011 313 3297.

The DBSA enquiry form and who it reaches

The DBSA contact form routes by area of interest, and choosing correctly is what determines who reads it. The published options are general enquiry, CSI and CSR, climate financing and the green economy, energy, social housing and bulk student accommodation, transport, water and sanitation, information and communications technology, education, health, local government support, SADC PPDF, mining and critical minerals, and complaints.

That list doubles as a map of what the bank actually funds. If your project does not fit one of those areas, the DBSA is probably not your funder.

Applying for funding from the DBSA

The DBSA funds infrastructure, largely at scale and largely for the public sector and its partners: municipal infrastructure, energy, water and sanitation, transport, health and education facilities, and increasingly climate-related projects through a Climate Finance Facility, an Embedded Generation Investment Programme, the Green Fund and Global Environment Facility work. It also runs project preparation and programme development, which matters because many applicants need that support before a project is fundable at all.

  • There is an Apply for Funding route on the DBSA site; use it rather than the switchboard
  • Have the project defined: what it is, who the implementing entity is, what stage it has reached and what the funding gap is
  • A municipality or state entity applying should expect the Local Government Support pathway rather than a straight loan enquiry

DBSA suppliers and tenders

Procurement runs separately from funding. DBSA publishes open requests for quotation and tenders, a list of panels and of awarded and cancelled tenders, and an eProcurement supplier portal. Register on the portal rather than emailing a company profile to the switchboard.

Complaints, fraud and grievance routes at the DBSA

  • The contact form carries a Complaints option that routes separately from a general enquiry
  • DBSA publishes an anti-fraud and corruption route on its own site
  • It also runs an Independent Grievance Redress Mechanism for people affected by projects it finances

That last one is unusual and worth knowing about. If a DBSA-funded project has affected your community, the grievance mechanism exists specifically for that and is independent of the project sponsor. It is a different door from a complaint about the bank service.

As a state-owned institution DBSA is also subject to the Promotion of Access to Information Act, and publishes a PAIA manual, which is the formal route for records it does not publish voluntarily.

Frequently asked questions

What is the DBSA contact number?

The switchboard is +27 11 313 3911 and reception is +27 11 313 3500 or +27 11 313 3297. Dialled from inside South Africa those are 011 313 3911, 011 313 3500 and 011 313 3297.

Where is the DBSA head office?

The bank is at 1258 Lever Road, Headway Hill, Midrand. Its postal address is PO Box 1234, Halfway House, 1685.

What is the DBSA email address?

info@dbsa.org is the published mailbox. For a funding or project query, the contact form routes by area of interest, and complaints have their own option on that form.

Can I borrow money from the DBSA as an individual?

No. The DBSA is a development finance institution that funds infrastructure projects and their public-sector partners. It does not open accounts, issue cards or lend to individuals.