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| Population (millions) | 13 |
| Gross domestic savings (% of GDP) | 10.6 |
| % Population under $2/day (PPP) | 64 |
| Size of informal sector | 36 percent |
| Regulated microfinance institutions | Commercial Banks, Building Societies, Cooperative Societies, Credit Unions, Finance |
| Non-regulated sources of microfinance | NGOs |
| Predominant informal finance mechanisms (ROSCAs, tontines, etc.) |
General Approach to Regulating
Based on the Comparative Database on Microfinance Regulation by the IRIS Center of the University of Maryland
| Commercial Banks | Finance Houses | Building Societies | NBFI | Cooperative Societies and Credit Unions | |
| Definition or description of institution | "a banking institution that conducts banking business in Zimbabwe and whose business mainly consists of the acceptance of deposits withdrawable by check or otherwise" (Banking Act Article 2) | "a banking institution that conducts banking business in Zimbabwe and whose business consists mainly in hirepurchase financing, financial leasing or factoring" (Banking Act Article 2) | Provides mortgage financing for individuals | Distributes micro-credits and is prohibited from taking deposits. | Member-owned organizations that mobilize and intermediate member savings. |
| Guidelines & restrictions on financial services | Permitted: Receiving deposits, extending credit, buying and selling instruments, money transmission services, buying and selling foreign currency, issuing and administering means of payment, money brokering, safeguarding valuables, portfolio management, financial leasing, hire-purchase contracts, buying and selling shares for customers, credit reference services
Prohibited: buy its own shares, loans against shares, non-banking business w/o permission of the Reserve Bank |
Permitted: hire-purchase financing, financial leasing or factoring | Permitted: mortgage financing, building societies can acquire land for purposes of erecting buildings for sale, and enter joint ventures with the local authorities or other persons for the purpose of erecting buildings, roads, storm water drains and sewage systems and such amenities (See http://allafrica.com/stories/200409090516.html) | Permitted: credit only Prohibited: deposit taking |
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Savings and the Poor in Harare, Bulawayo, Gokwe and Chihota
Summarised from: Savings Use and Impact of Savings Services Among Poor People in Zimbabwe, 2001. By Petronella Chigara and Leonard Mutesasira
MicroSave-Africa commissioned this study in conjunction with two other studies in Zambia and South Africa with the aim of understanding how the poor manage their money in the Southern African region. The purpose of this study is to improve knowledge and understanding of how poor people in Southern Africa save, how they use different savings services/systems and the impact of those savings facilities on their household budgets/lives, and thus to facilitate MFIs' efforts to mobilise savings.
The Zimbabwean context is particularly unique because of the unprecedented macroeconomic framework that has seen inflation rates of around 70%, the highest devaluation rates ever, and general decline in the economy. This reports highlights the coping mechanisms that the poor have adopted in order to manage in this harsh economic climate.
The study was undertaken during the months of May and June 2001 and covered two major cities (Harare and Bulawayo) and two major rural settings Gokwe and Chihota.
Rural Chivi District
Summarised from: Saving to death: A study of group based and other saving arrangements in rural Chivi District, 2000.
By V. Dzingirai
In Africa, the issue of rural savings is poorly understood. Why do rural people save? How do they save? This interesting and very readable study of informal rural savings approaches in Zimbabwe is based on field research conducted in Mazoredze, a village of 160 persons and 28 households in Chivi District. The investigation focuses on an analysis of the various methods households use to accumulate and redistribute in-kind and cash capital used to finance their development and on the socio-cultural factors that influence - constrain or promote - those accumulation and redistribution processes.
“Kupfuma Ishungu”- a self-managed, village savings and lending scheme
Summarised from: Efforts to mitigate the impact of AIDS on clients, households and enterprises, 2004.
By SEEP Network
The consequences of the HIV/AIDS pandemic are unprecedented and far-reaching. But for many families, concerns about sliding into poverty subsume the other effects of HIV/AIDS. Income and savings become crucial as households struggle to build and protect their economic resources to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS. In communities heavily affected by the disease, HIV/AIDS is altering the context in which people earn their livelihoods and define their financial needs.
Microenterprise development services can help families cover basic expenses, ensure the wellbeing of the children in their care, increase their income, and build their savings. In general, microfinance and business development services comprise the various initiatives found within the field of microenterprise development.
See also:
Ersado, L., Alwang, J. & Alderman, H., Changes in consumption and saving behavior before and after economic shocks: evidence from Zimbabwe, 2000.
Lacoste, J. What kind of savings do poor women need? The experience of SHDF 2001.
Raftopoulos, B. & Lacoste, J., Savings Mobilisation to Micro-finance: A Historical Perspective on the Zimbabwe Savings Development Movement, 2001.