Staff Writer
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mushayavanhu has welcomed a US$30 million financing facility secured by Central Africa Building Society (CABS) from British International Investment (BII), but said more long-term capital was needed to meet the financing requirements of Zimbabwe’s productive sectors.
The four-year facility, which comprises a US$20 million term loan and a planned US$10 million trade finance facility, is expected to support agriculture, food manufacturing, clean energy and sustainable production, with a particular focus on businesses seeking to expand production and participate in export markets.
Dr Mushayavanhu said the facility addressed one of the major constraints facing private-sector expansion — access to affordable medium- and long-term financing.
“The credit facility addresses one of the most critical requirements of our private sector, that is, access to affordable, long-term financing,” he said.
The Governor said the four-year tenor was particularly significant because productive investment required funding that matched the investment cycle of businesses.
“Productive investment requires patient funding that matches the time needed to acquire machinery, expand facilities, develop supply chains and reach new markets,” Dr Mushayavanhu said.
“Short-term funding cannot support long-term transformation.”
He said the financing would allow farmers, processors, manufacturers and other businesses to expand capacity while strengthening their ability to participate in regional and international markets.
The facility is targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises through long-term trade finance and capital expenditure loans, while export-oriented businesses in agriculture and food manufacturing will be able to access funding for machinery replacement and increased production capacity.
Dr Mushayavanhu said the transaction was particularly important because agriculture and food manufacturing were central to food security, employment creation, value addition, import substitution and export growth.
The financing is also expected to support clean energy and sustainable agricultural activities, areas the Governor said were essential to ensuring that economic growth remained resilient and inclusive.
The partnership between CABS and BII also marks BII’s return to Zimbabwe after more than 13 years, providing another source of offshore capital for the domestic financial sector.
Dr Mushayavanhu commended BII for re-engaging Zimbabwe and said development finance institutions had an important catalytic role in economies where access to long-term capital remained constrained.
“Development finance institutions have an important catalytic role: they provide capital, extend tenors, share risk and help mobilise further investment,” he said.
He added that the participation of such institutions also brought stronger standards in governance and environmental and social risk management, which could strengthen both borrowers and financial intermediaries.
For CABS, the facility builds on an existing focus on productive-sector lending. The bank said agriculture accounted for 28 percent of its loan portfolio, equivalent to US$96 million, as at June 30, 2026.
CABS has financed activities across the agricultural value chain, including horticulture, sugarcane, macadamia nuts and grain, as well as smallholder farmers, merchants, aggregators and food processors.
Dr Mushayavanhu, however, said the latest facility should translate into financing that was accessible and appropriately structured for viable businesses.
“I therefore call upon CABS to translate this partnership into accessible and appropriately structured funding for deserving enterprises across the agriculture and food-manufacturing value chains,” he said.
He also urged businesses receiving the funds to use the resources productively, maintain strong governance and meet their repayment obligations.
The Governor said responsible deployment of offshore lines of credit was critical if such facilities were to generate a lasting impact and attract additional capital into Zimbabwe.
“Such facilities must, however, be deployed responsibly, transparently and in full compliance with prudential, exchange control, anti-money-laundering and counter-financing-of-terrorism requirements,” he said.
“We expect participating institutions to maintain robust credit appraisal, sound risk management and effective monitoring so that every dollar supports commercially viable activity and delivers measurable economic impact.”
The Reserve Bank’s support for the transaction comes as monetary and financial stability has improved, creating conditions for longer-term lending and investment.
Dr Mushayavanhu said monetary stability should ultimately translate into greater mobilisation of savings, increased productive lending and longer investment horizons.
“Stability is not an end in itself; it must create the conditions in which savings are mobilised, credit is directed to productive activity, investment horizons lengthen and businesses can plan with greater confidence,” he said.
He said the central bank would continue pursuing prudent monetary policy, disciplined liquidity management and measures aimed at strengthening foreign-currency reserves and maintaining a safe and sound banking system.
The Governor said the banking sector remained well capitalised, with non-performing loans below the internationally accepted five percent threshold, while Zimbabwe’s economy was projected to grow by five percent in 2026.
He also said the central bank had made progress in meeting conditions required for a transition to a mono-currency system, although the process would remain market driven.
Against this backdrop, Dr Mushayavanhu said the CABS-BII transaction should be viewed as part of a broader effort to deepen financial intermediation and channel capital into sectors capable of generating production, employment and foreign currency.
He said Zimbabwe needed more such partnerships to supplement domestic resources and support investment.
“The significance of this transaction extends beyond its headline value,” Dr Mushayavanhu said.
“It represents long-term capital for agriculture and food manufacturing—sectors that are central to food security, employment, value addition, import substitution and export growth.”
The Governor’s message was therefore clear: while the US$30 million facility provides additional funding for productive enterprises, sustained economic expansion will require continued mobilisation of long-term domestic and offshore capital to close financing gaps across Zimbabwe’s productive economy.
