Almot Maqolo, Staff Writer 
THE Treasury has allocated US$1,9 million this year to recapitalise Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank Limited (ZWMB), aiming to expedite government guarantees and prescribed asset status for the institution.
This comes as Zimbabwe Women Parliamentary Caucus (ZWPC) chairperson, Maybe Mbohwa, has called for support for ZWMB in mechanising smallholder women farmers.
While financial inclusion has been on the rise in Zimbabwe, exclusion still disproportionately affects women.
Mbohwa raised concerns regarding ZWMB’s high interest rates, which can climb to 10 percent per month. In response, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube acknowledged these concerns.
“We take note of the concern and we will engage the responsible ministry and management to see if they can review the terms,” he said during the recent 2025 pre-budget seminar.
“On our part, Treasury has so far disbursed an equivalent of US$1,9 million during the year towards the recapitalisation of the bank. In addition, Treasury will also expedite the processing of government guarantees and prescribed asset status for the bank,” Ncube added.
As an advocacy unit, ZWPC ensures that gender perspectives are integrated into budget discussions, amplifying the voices of women and marginalised groups in fiscal planning.
Ncube’s upcoming 2025 National Budget Statement will shape Zimbabwe’s fiscal policies, setting priorities, allocations, and revenue strategies for the coming year.
The country’s foreign currency lending market remains robust, with the microfinance sector seeing growth in aggregate equity capital due to increased retained earnings from foreign currency-denominated loans in the first quarter of 2024.
As of September 30, 2023, foreign currency loans comprised over 80 percent of all loans in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe Association of Microfinance Institutions (ZAMFI) first-quarter review revealed that the sector is now nearly fully dollarized, with 97,9 percent of loans in US dollars, compared to just 2,1 percent in Zimdollars.
The US dollar loan portfolio increased by US$3,26 million to reach US$48,63 million by March 31, 2024, up from US$45,1 million at the end of December 2023.
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