By Wallace Mawire
Leading financial services institution, Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe, has added 13 more remote branches countrywide for this tobacco season and beyond, bringing the total to 27 to enable ease of transactions for its customers.
Stanbic Bank introduced the seasonal remote branches, also known as implants, at major tobacco auction floors and key client locations in 2021 as the Standard Bank Group subsidiary sought to bring banking convenience on the doorsteps of farmers and merchants countrywide
The tobacco selling season started in earnest in March and Stanbic Bank has established 13 more implants countrywide in Marondera, Macheke, Rusape, Banket, Chinhoyi, Bindura Mhangura, Mutoko, Chivhu, Mt Darwin, Mvurwi, Karoi as well as Guruve.
The remote branches are situated at key tobacco sales floors and merchants such as Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco, Mashonaland Tobacco Company, Boost Africa, Curverid Tobacco and Northern Tobacco.
Commenting on the development, Stanbic Bank Head of Personal and Business Banking, Nelson Muhau, said these temporary branches have an array of benefits that include easy access to cash for tobacco farmers and merchants, decongesting the main floors and less travel time for those in remote areas.
Before the establishment of these remote branches, farmers from as far as Chivhu, Mt Darwin, Mutoko and Rusape would travel to Harare to do their banking but now they do it at their doorstep.
“These remote branches also reinforce Stanbic Bank’s quest to meet the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ’s) financial inclusion initiative as we seek to play our part in fostering inclusive economic growth and social development,” said Muhau.
He also said that in keeping with the RBZ’s financial inclusion goals, Stanbic Bank is determined to ensure that tobacco farmers and merchants from remote areas have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs such as transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance delivered in responsible and sustainable way.
“We are committed to put our shoulder to the wheel by embracing the RBZ’s developmental approach to drive financial inclusion by ensuring that tobacco farmers have these financial services at their doorsteps instead of having them crowd the major auction floors,” he said.
Muhau said Stanbic Bank is cognisant of the fact that small holder farmers fall under the special group identified for special focus and was pleased to establish these remote branches for their benefit.
The RBZ’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) seeks to address barriers to financial inclusion, prioritise and address the needs of special target groups which are currently underserved, through the implementation of key priority measures that will facilitate the building of robust financial infrastructures with the view to reducing the level of financial exclusion.
Apart from smallholder farmers, other special groups identified for special focus include – Low-income households; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; Women; Youth; People with Disabilities; and those in Rural areas.
Stanbic Bank is the biggest financial investment player in Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry availing over USD405m offshore and USD20m onshore tobacco facilities to the main tobacco merchants and primary producers linked to the major tobacco merchants and their value chains.
Tobacco production is a key component of the agricultural sector in Zimbabwe and contributes more than 10% of the GDP.
Last year the industry produced a record high 353 million kg, a 52.9 % increase from 2024, generating over US$1.17 billion in revenue. The sector remains a critical economic pillar, with 85% of 135,000+ growers being small-scale.
Zimbabwe sold333,191,640 kg through contract farming, while 19,825,026 kg went through auction floors while China remains the largest importer of Zimbabwean tobacco.
