NMB pursues fresh credit lines

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NMB Bank (NMB) is pursuing fresh lines of credit from undisclosed international funders to meet the growing demand for working capital financing in the local productive sectors of the economy.
The bank is one of the largest financiers of blueberries, which are primarily sold on the international market.
In an interview with The Financial Gazette, NMB Bank chief executive Gerald Gore said there is currently a lot of demand for capital spending.
NMB secured a 12,5 million-euro line of credit from the European Investment Bank last year.
“That money got finished before it even came,” said Gore.
“That’s really to show the appetite for funding; we also got another US$10 million from Trade Investment Bank. It’s already finished as well, we are now talking to other funders.”

The credit lines will give the bank patient capital.
Some of the facilities have grace periods, which gives exporters an opportunity to tap in. The demand is largely coming from agriculture and horticulture, but also from other sectors like tourism.
“The appetite is there. I am already sitting on a very huge pipeline of people who want to benefit from these lines of credit and like I indicated, some of them are coming for three years, some as high as five, you know, seven years and that’s really good capital for someone who is willing to expand their business,” Gore said.
“The appetite is very strong; in fact, we are not able to meet the demand that I can confirm, so we are on the road to look for more money so that we can continue supporting these businesses.”
NMB is doing a lot of US dollar loans, driven by external credit lines.
More consumers turn to debt to cope with the spiralling cost of living.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and NMB recently signed an agreement that will pave the way for a US$15 million trade finance transaction guarantee facility for NMB.
This strategic collaboration aims to unlock significant trade finance opportunities for Zimbabwean businesses, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises and local corporates engaged in agribusiness and trade distribution value chains.
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