shloboe boe
Nokuthaba Brita Ncube, ncubenokuthababrita@gmail.com
ZIMBABWE has made notable strides in promoting financial inclusion among marginalised groups such as women, youths, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to access financial services.
To close the financing gap and empower MSMEs, the Government established deposit-taking microfinance institutions, which include the empowerment bank, popularly known as Empower Bank Zimbabwe, the Women’s Microfinance Bank to enhance the financial inclusion of women, the youth, and indigenous Zimbabweans.
Finance, Economic, Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, has noted the steady increase in access to loans by the marginalised groups, which has enabled some of them to diversify to new products and markets.
According to Prof Ncube, average loans to MSMEs as a percentage of total bank loans increased from 3,87 percent in September 2023 to 7,55 percent in September 2024.
In addition, average loans to women as a percentage of total bank loans increased from 4,48 percent in September 2023 to 9,86 percent in September 2024.
Average loans to youths as a percentage of total bank loans increased from 3,29 percent in September 2023 to 6,75 percent in September 2024.
In his 2025 National Budget unveiled last week, Prof Ncube further noted that the Government will continue to engage the banking and non-banking sectors to facilitate the development of tailor-made products and services to promote the uptake and usage of financial services and products.
“Government continues to support the capitalisation of financial institutions whose main mandate is to promote financial inclusion of the marginalised and underserved segments including the Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank (ZWMB), Empower Bank for the Youth, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Corporation (SMEDCO) for MSMEs, Women Development Fund, Community Development Fund, and the AFC Land and Development Bank for rural smallholder farmers,” he said.
The Government’s commitment to supporting the capitalisation of financial institutions is demonstrated by the ZWG77,4 million, which was allocated towards Youth Empowerment Bank, ZWG108 million to the National Venture Capital Company of Zimbabwe, and ZWG130 million allocated towards Small and Medium Enterprise Development Corporation.
A total of ZWG1,02 billion has been allocated to the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Development, and Vocational Training to support youth empowerment programmes and projects.
On account of the growing proliferation of informal sector activities in the region, the Government launched the National Financial Inclusion Strategy II (NFIS II) in 2022 to deepen the use of financial products in the informal sector, to achieve the aspirations of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS 1) and to promote prosperity in the sector.
NFIS2 is anchored on financial innovation, consumer protection and financial capability, devolution, and micro-financing, MSME, and entrepreneurship development.
During the course of 2024, financial literacy programmes were rolled out to several provinces. However, there is still much work to be done to ensure that these previously marginalised groups have equal opportunities to access and usage of quality financial products and be included in the financial ecosystem.
In terms of finance, some lenders view SMEs as high risk due to the lack of collateral security making it difficult for them to secure the capital they need to invest, expand, and compete.
The lack of access to finance and lack of essential business development services stifles MSMEs’ potential and hinders their contribution to the economy.
In Zimbabwe, MSMEs are a key driver to economic development, employment creation, and unlocking entrepreneurial skills that facilitate wealth creation in line with the objectives of the country’s development agenda of becoming an upper-middle-income society by 2030.
mbulelo smpofu
