A digital copy of the Business News 24 (08 January 2015 edition). Zimbabwe's premier business news free sheet published by the Zimpapers Newspapers Group (1980) Limited and available every week day from 1530hrs to give a summary of the day's business news.

1. News Update as @ 1530 hours, Thursday 8 January 2015
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Mwana seeks to end dispute with shareholder and non-executive director
*But CIMGC, Ning to file amended
petition that also seeks to chal-
lenge the appointments of Ngoni
Kudenga and Herbert Mashanyare
totheMwanaboard
ByTawandaMusarurwa
Regional mining conglomerate Mwana
Africa Plc says willing to work with
'substantial' shareholder China Inter-
national Mining Group Corporation and
one of its non-executive directors, Yat
Hoi Ning to resolve a dispute with the
pair.
CIMGC and Ning early last month filed
a petition at the High Court of Justice,
Companies Court in London, against
the company.
The petition alleged that the passing of
Resolution 3 at the company’s annual
general meeting on September 10,
which related to the re-appointment of
Stuart Morris as a director of the com-
pany, was not validly passed.
CIMGC and Ning hold a 21,4 percent
and 7,6 percent interest in Mwana
Africa, respectively.
But after a hearing at the Companies
Court early yesterday, Mwana said it
was prepared to work with the par-
ties in question to reach a "mutually
acceptable resolution".
The mining giant however also said it
was prepared to "defend its position"
if need be. "The Company’s position
remains unchanged in respect of these
court proceedings. Whilst it will con-
tinue to attempt to work with the Peti-
tioners to achieve a mutually accept-
able resolution to their complaints, the
Company will defend its position vigor-
ously in court if required," said Mwana
in a statement.
Mwana believes that it did no wrong in
the process that resulted in the re-ap-
pointment of Morris as a director of the
company.
The group said in a statement on
December 9 - as it had stated before-
hand - that the votes of CIMGC and
its associates were not counted in the
poll and were deemed inadmissible
because the votes, as cast, infringed
the relationship agreement entered
into with the company in April 2012.
Yesterday's court hearing determined
a trial window. Mwana confirmed that
a trial to review the petition brought
against the company will take place
sometime between November 1 2015
and February 1 2016. And that the dis-
puting parties will return to court later
this month to fix the trial date.
"Mwana announces that at the hear-
ing held earlier today at the Compa-
nies Court in respect of the matter
brought by China International Mining
Group Corporation (“CIMGC”), a sub-
stantial shareholder in Mwana, and Mr

2. By Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Thecountry’snationalpaymentsystem
continues to be dominated by trans-
actions processed through Real Time
Gross Settlement (RTGS) which grew
by 7 percent in November, figures from
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe show.
According to the central bank’s
monthly economic review for Novem-
ber,thevalueoftransactionsprocessed
through RTGS increased to $4,1 billion
percent from $3,8 billion recorded in
October.
“In volume terms, total transactions
registered a decrease of 14 percent
from 200 323 to 171 446 during the
same period,” the RBZ said.
The total value of card based transac-
tions were lower at $331,71 million in
November2014,comparedto$441,77
million in October 2014.
Mobile and internet based transactions
for the month of November declined
from $479,70 million in October 2014,
to $279,52 million.
The central bank said the period under
review also saw the value of cheque
transactions fall to $11.40 million in
November from $13,58 million in Octo-
ber.
Annual broad money rose to 15,98
percent in November from 12,79
percent in October, the highest such
annual increase in nearly two years.
In absolute terms, broad money rose
from $3,8 billion in November 2013 to
$4,4 billion in November 2014.
“The growth in broad money was
driven by increases across all deposit
classes, with the exception of short
term deposits,” the central bank said.
Long term deposits also registered the
largest annual growth of 45,82 per-
cent in November 2014 while savings,
demand, and short term deposits,
recorded increases of 24,11 percent
and 11,34 percent respectively.
Short term deposits, however, declined
by 0,8 percent over the same period.
Treasury bills issuances registered a
147, 83 percent annual growth driv-
ing net credit to Government which
increased by 39,37 percent. Credit
to the private sector registered an
increase of 3,4 percent. •
RTGS transactions grow 7 percent
2 News
Yat Hoi Ning, a Non-Executive Director
and associate of CIMGC, (together the
“Petitioners”) against the Company
and two of its non-executive directors,
Mr Stuart Morris and Mr Johan Botha,
initial directions were laid down for the
future conduct of the petition includ-
ing the setting of a trial window of 3
months from 1 November 2015. The
parties will return to court later this
month to fix the trial date."
In addition, the group said it had
given leave to the petitioners to file an
amended petition that also seeks to
challenge the appointments of Ngoni
Kudenga and Herbert Mashanyare as
non-executive directors of the com-
pany.
The appointments of Kudenga and
Mashanyare were announced on the
10th of last month.
Mwana Africa is a pan-African, mul-
ti-commodity resources company
focused on the production, develop-
ment and exploration of gold, nickel,
copper and diamonds. In Zimbabwe,
the group has an 85 percent interest
in Freda Rebecca Gold Mine and a 75,4
percent interest in Bindura Nickel Cor-
poration. •
BreakingNews:Allied Bank
surrenders banking licence
Our sources say Allied Bank
has surrendered its banking
licence to the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe. Confirmation from
the central bank could not be
obtained by the time of pub-
lishing. Watch this space for
more details.....

3. By Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Annual gold production at Gwan-
da-based Blanket mine recorded a 8,1
percent decline to 41,836 ounces from
45,527 ounces recorded in 2013.
The figure was however 4.6 percent
higher than the company’s production
targets of 40,000 ounces for 2014.
The firm, which is 49 percent owned
by Toronto Stock Exchange listed Cal-
edonia Mining Corporation, produced
10,482 ounces of gold in the fourth
quarter of 2014, representing a 8.3 per
cent decrease on the gold produced in
Q42013at11,429ouncesanda6per-
cent increase on the gold produced in
Q3 2014 totaling 9,890 ounces.
Caledonia chief executive Steve Curtis
said the 2014 output had been affected
by the lower grade and underground
infrastructure constraints.
“I expect that production in 2015 will
be marginally higher than production in
2014. I am confident that the revised
investmentplan,whichwasannounced
on November 3, 2014, will result in
progressive increases in production
from 2016 onwards when we expect to
see the first production from below 750
meters - initially from the No. 6 Winze
and subsequently from the Central
shaft,” he said.
Last year, Caledonia announced plans
to invest $70 million to expand oper-
ations at Blanket Mine between this
year and 2020 in the company’s
revised investment plan and produc-
tion projections for the mine. Under the
plan, Blanket is expected to produce
between 70-75 000 ounces of gold per
annum by 2021.
The Revised Plan is expected to
improve the underground infrastruc-
ture and logistics at the mine and allow
an efficient and sustainable produc-
tion buildup. The revised plan will also
improve Blanket’s long term opera-
tional efficiency, flexibility and sustain-
ability.
For 2015, the company said it is tar-
geting production of around 42,000
ounces of the yellow metal.
The firm also expects its financial
results for the quarter and year to
December 31, 2014 will be released on
March 31, 2015.
OnTuesday,theminerdeclaredaquar-
terly dividend of one and a half Cana-
dian cents (C$0.015), its fifth quarterly
payment. •
3 NEWS
Blanket Mine production declines
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4. BH24

5. 55
BH24

6. Zimplats said it would implement a
new mining method at its Bimha shaft
and added that it was closely monitor-
ing how it went about exploiting two
other projects following a collapse of
ground at Bimha last year.
Alex Mhembere, CEO of Zimplats, said
in an interview that extraction ratios
would be affected at Bimha when it
restarted production. The head grade
would be unaffected.
“We will have to embark on a new min-
ing method," said Mhembere. "It will
still be board-and-pillar [method], but
it will be different in terms of the pil-
lar sizes, and the size of the stopping
areas. We are evaluating the extent of
the blast."
Zimplats said in December that a study
carried out by consultants after the col-
lapse of the mine had concluded that it
wasfeasibletore-developBimhamine,
its biggest, "along strike, 30 meters
above the current footprint".
Although the other mines had been
marked as safe from the ground sup-
port problems that affected Bimha,
Mhembere said the Mupfuti mine and
the P5 replacement mine project –
which are in close proximity to Bimha
– are now being monitored and evalu-
ated to ensure they sustainable safety.
Zimplats is a 270,000 platinum ounce
a year producer in which Johannes-
burg-listed Impala Platinum has an
87 percent stake. The ground support
problems at Bimha resulted in the loss
of an estimated 70,000 ounces from its
2015 target of about 240,000 ounces.
Zimplats will present its half year
update to the end of December at the
end of this month.
Mhembere, who is also chamber of
mines president, said the higher cost
of electricity miners were incurring in
Zimbabwe was aimed at guaranteeing
power supplies. Miners such as Zim-
plats have a deal, running until 2017,
with the Zimbabwean state power
company to import electricity straight
from Cahora Bassa which is more
expensive.
“We have an arrangement with ZESA
were we import power from Hydro
Cahora Bassa in Mozambique. That
arrangement is still in place up to 2017
and we are getting sufficient power for
our current requirements,” he said. -
Miningmx.com •
66 NEWS
Zimplats' Bimha mine to adopt new mining method
By Funny Hudzerema
16 400 new tobacco growers have reg-
istered for the 2015 growing season
to date, with the majority of them (10
049)beingcommunalfarmers,accord-
ing to the Tobacco Industry and Mar-
keting Board (TIMB).
Latest statistics from the TIMB show
that Mashonaland West has recorded
the highest number of new tobacco
growers with 5 798 having registered
for the current growing season while
Matabeleland has the least, with a total
of only seven new registered growers.
Mashonaland Central recorded a total
of 4 565 new tobacco growers occu-
pying the second position while 2 910
new tobacco registered growers were
recorded in Mashonaland East.
Manicaland recorded a total of 2 754
new registered growers while Midlands
recorded a total of 201 new tobacco
growers. Masvingo recorded a total of
167 new tobacco growers.There has
been a marginal 2,5 percent increase
in the total number of farmers produc-
ing the golden leaf this season from
last season.
According to TIMB, 88 167 growers
have registered for 2015 season as
compared to 86 006 who had regis-
tered by the same period last year.
The majority of these growers are
communal farmers at 40 869 followed
by A1 farmers at 32 236 while A2
recorded a total of 7 839 registered
tobacco growers for 2015 season.
However, small-scale commercial
tobacco growers remain rather low,
with a total of 6 908 having registered
for this season.
The 2,5 percent growth in total reg-
istered tobacco producers should be
reflected in an increase in the total
output for this season from last sea-
son, which was the highest in over a
decade. •
Tobacco production goes communal

7. BH24

8. Funding remains a key challenge in
Zimbabwe, especially for business and
industry.
But it is not simply a problem of not
having adequate funding for the econ-
omy, either from multi-lateral lenders
or from Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI).
It is also one of confidence in the econ-
omy. We are convinced that as con-
fidence rises in the economy, more
flexible lending policies may come into
stream.
It is in the interest of the banking
industry to place a lot of faith in the
local entrepreneurs by giving them the
support they need to move forward.
Current lending policies discriminate
against new and small businesses and
this is certainly not in the interest of the
broader economy.
Foreign companies that come to do
business in Zimbabwe obtain loans in
their respective countries at next to no
interest if at all.
This gives them an unfair advantage
over indigenous firms.
It is important that more effort be
made to make sure that local busi-
nesses become competitive, otherwise
indigenous firms do not stand a chance
against foreign firms.
It is also apparent then that current
lending policies of the majority of local
banks discriminate against new and
small businesses.
It's simply a result of a lack of confi-
dence in the small-to-medium enter-
prises (SMEs) sector.
This cannot be in the wider interest of
the nation.
And considering that SMEs are a sig-
nificant component of the Zimbabwean
economic milieu, it means then that
the inflexible state of banks’ lending
polices is hurting the economy.
It is therefore important that local
financial institutions relax their lending
policies as a means to boost small busi-
nesses’ access to loans and resultantly
raise their competitiveness.
Zimbabwean banks’ proclivity not
to lend to smaller enterprises is also
acting to constrain money supply into
some critical sectors of the economy.
Hence from a broader perspective, it is
in the interest of the banking industry
as well to place a lot of faith in the local
entrepreneurs by giving them the sup-
port they need to move forward.
By efficiently funding SMEs, banks will
be acting to ramp up money supply
into most of the critical sectors of the
economy, insofar as SMEs are to be
found in most sectors of the local econ-
omy including the absolutely critical
mining, tourism, and manufacturing
sectors. •
8 BH24 COMMENT
Banks should have more confidence in indigenous businesses

9. The Zimbabwe stock exchange ended
a five day losing streak as gains in
Delta, Edgars and Seedco spurred the
industrial index.
The mainstream index gained 0.42
points to close at 161.01 points. Delta
traded 2 cents higher to close at 104
cents and Edgars moved up by 0.60
cents to settle at 9 cents. Seedco
added 0.50 cents to 97.50 cents and
Mash holdings was up by 0.10 cents to
close at 2.80 cents.
On the downside, OK Zimbabwe
dropped 1.50 cents to 10 cents whilst
Econet and Medtech both lost 0.01
cents to trade at 60 cents and 0.02
cents respectively.
Volumes were buoyed by trades in
Econet, Delta and Seedco and the
value of trades was $1.566 million.
The mining index eased 1.80 points
to close at 66.31 points after Bind-
ura went down by 0.20 cents to close
at 5.80 cents. Falgold, Hwange and
RioZim were unchanged at 3 cents,
4.80 cents and 15 cents respectively.
― BH24 Reporter •
9 ZSE REVIEW
Bourse records first gain of 2015

10. REGIONAL News10
The rand weakened on Thursday, but
local bonds continued to draw buyers,
as investors' aversion for riskier yet
higher yielding assets eased following
weak inflation figures in the eurozone.
As of 0625 GMT, the rand had softened
0.08 percent to 11.6895 per dollar,
remaining in a tight and likely to firm
withsomemarketwatchersanticipating
a correction in the high-flying dollar.
Data on Wednesday showed the euro
zone slipped into deflation in 2014, for
the first time since 2009, increasing the
likelihood of the European Central Bank
printingmoneyinabidtostimulateeco-
nomic activity.
Riskier emerging market assets were
buoyedbytheeurozone'swoes,aswell
a pause in the slide of global oil prices,
as investors sought higher yields, par-
ticularly in fixed income assets.
"Low oil means low inflation, means a
stagnant global economic growth belief,
means lower interest rates, means you
gotta love South Africa's lucrative gov-
ernment bond yields," said Warrick But-
ler of Standard Bank in a note.
The yield on the benchmark govern-
ment paper due in 2026 went to a
fresh 1-month low early on Thursday at
7.715 percent, so far shedding 17 basis
points in 2015.
In local data, South Africa's Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (SACCI) pub-
lishes its December business confidence
index at 0730 GMT. - Reuters •
South Africa's rand slightly weaker but bonds buoyed by euro zone woes
Tanzania current account deficit for Jan-Oct widens 2.1 pct y/y
Tanzania's current account deficit wid-
enedby2.1percentintheyeartoOcto-
ber despite an increase in exports, after
the country received less aid and fewer
loans, its central bank said on Thursday.
The current account deficit expanded
to $4.683 billion in the year to Octo-
ber from $4.588 billion in the same
period last year. "The widening of the
deficit was driven by a fall in inflows of
official current transfers, particularly
those under the programme grants,"
the Bank of Tanzania said in its latest
monthly economic report.
Tanzania is one of Africa's biggest per
capita aid recipients. A group of interna-
tionaldonorssaidinOctobertheywould
pay outstanding pledges of budget sup-
port worth almost $500 million only if
the government took appropriate action
against graft allegations in the energy
sector.
For the first 10 months of 2014, "the
overallbalanceofpaymentsregistereda
deficit of $380.5 million compared with
a surplus of $546.7 million recorded in
the year ending October 2013," said
the central bank. Total exports of goods
and services rose 3.3 percent to $8.6
billion, while the country's import bill for
goods and services rose 1.3 percent to
$13.445 billion.
Tourism, the country's top foreign
exchange earner, fetched $1.96 billion
in the year to October from $1.79 billion
previously. The rise was due to more
visitors arriving.
Gold export earnings continued to slide,
falling to $1.35 billion from $1.74 billion
previouslyonloweroutputanddeclining
world prices.
Tanzania is the continent's fourth-larg-
est gold producer after South Africa,
Ghana and Mali.
Gross official foreign exchange reserves
held by the central bank fell to $4.26
billion in the year to October, or about
fourmonthsofimportcover,from$4.65
billion a year ago. - Reuters •

11. 11 DIARY OF EVENTS
The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.
POWER GENERATION STATS
Gen Station
6January 14
Energy
(Megawatts)
Hwange 525 MW
Kariba 614 MW
Harare 30 MW
Munyati 30MW
Bulawayo 22 MW
Imports 0 MW
Total 1 221 MW
12 January 2015 - CBZ Extraordinary General Meeting; Place: CBZ Wealth Management Centre, Pomona;
Time: 08:30am
THE BH24 DIARY

12. 12 zse
ZSE
Movers CHANGE Today Price USc SHAKERS Change TODAY Price USc
Edgars 7.14% 9.00 Medtech -33.33% 0.02
Mash Holdings 3.70% 2.80 OK Zimbabwe -13.04% 10.00
Delta 1.96% 104.00 BNC -3.33% 5.80
Seed Co 0.52% 97.50 Econet -0.02% 60.00
Indices
Index Previous Today Move Change
Industrial 160.59 161.01 +0.42 points +0.26%
Mining 68.11 66.31 +1.80 points +2.64%
Stocks Exchange

13. 13 AFRICA StockS
Botswana 8,664.65 -11.96 -0.14% 12July
Cote dIvoire 256.50 -1.58 -0.61% 02Jan
Egypt 8,942.65 +16.07 +0.18% 04Jan
Ghana 2,287.32 +26.30 +1.16% 02Jan
Kenya 5,117.43 +4.78 +0.09% 02Jan
Malawi 14,886.12 +0.00 +0.00% 02Jan
Mauritius 6,795.35 +24.31 +0.36% 31Dec
Morocco 9,643.19 +23.08 +0.24% 02Jan
Nigeria 34,657.15 -27.17 -0.08% 31Dec
Rwanda 143.39 +0.20 +0.14% 02Oct
Tanzania 2,602.19 -30.74 -1.17% 28Oct
Tunisia 4,624.39 -39.32 -0.84% 07Mar
Uganda 1,942.77 -12.69 -0.65% 10Dec
Zambia 6,160.66 +12.17 +0.20% 31Dec
Zimbabwe 162.57 -0.22 -0.14% 02Jan
African stock round up Commodity Prices
Name Price
Crude Oil 1,300.91 -0.21%
Spot Gold USD/oz 1,292.63 -0.26%
Spot Silver USD/oz 19.38 -0.46%
Spot Platinum USD/oz 1,421.25 -0.33%
Spot Palladium USD/oz 798.50 -0.64%
LME Copper USD/t 6,770 -0.18%
LME Aluminium USD/t 1,780 -1.17%
LME Nickel USD/t 18,230 -1.73%
LME Lead USD/t 2,095 -1.41%
Quote of the day — "To be suc-
cessful, the first thing to
do is fall in love with your
work." - Sister Mary
Lauretta
Globalshareholder.com

14. 14 INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Oil held gains after a rebound from the
lowest price since April 2009 as inves-
tors weighed whether the sell-off was
excessive amid speculation that U.S.
production growth may slow.
Futures were little changed in New
York after rising 1.5 percent yesterday.
The market has almost bottomed out
with “some recovery” possible by the
second half of the year, according to
Andrew J. Hall, a commodity hedge
fund manager. Credit Suisse Group AG
cut its forecast for this year’s increase
in U.S. crude output by 500,000 bar-
rels a day.
Oil’s collapse has been so rapid and so
driven by sentiment that forecasters
from Bank of America Corp. to UBS AG
say there are no clear signs of when
the rout will end. The U.S. is pumping
the most crude in more than three dec-
ades as horizontal drilling and hydraulic
fracturing unlock shale reserves, add-
ing to a global supply glut that Qatar
estimates at 2 million barrels a day.
“It’s no longer a one-way bet,” Gor-
don Kwan, the Hong Kong-based head
of regional oil and gas research at
Nomura Holdings Inc., said by phone
today. “People finally realized that oil
prices have been oversold. This should
be a technical rebound, but I don’t
think it will bring us to above $60.”
WTI for February delivery was at
$48.61 a barrel in electronic trading
on the New York Mercantile Exchange,
down 4 cents, at 3:25 p.m. Singapore
time. The contract increased 72 cents
to $48.65 yesterday. The volume of all
futures traded was about 37 percent
above the 100-day average.
‘Trading Opportunities’
Brent for February settlement was 14
cents lower at $51.01 a barrel on the
London-based ICE Futures Europe
exchange. It climbed 5 cents to $51.15
yesterday. The European benchmark
crude traded at a premium of $2.43
to WTI.
Current prices aren’t sustainable in the
long term and there may be “attractive
trading opportunities” over the coming
12months,Hall,theheadofAstenbeck
Capital Management, wrote in a Jan. 2
letter to investors obtained by Bloomb-
erg News. Oil will remain under pres-
sure this year, according to the letter.
Implied volatility for at-the-money
options in the front-month WTI con-
tract advanced to 60.2 percent this
week, the highest level in more than
three years, data compiled by Bloomb-
erg show. It’s about 48 percent today,
while Brent’s volatility is near 45 per-
cent.
Production Growth
U.S. output expanded to 9.14 million
a day through Dec. 12, the highest
level in weekly data from the Energy
Information Administration that started
in January 1983. Growth may slow by
800,000 barrels a day in 2016 com-
pared with its previous estimate, David
Hewitt, the co-head of global oil and
gas equity research at Credit Suisse,
said at an investor conference in Sin-
gapore today.
Credit Suisse had previously expected
U.S. production to accelerate by 1.3
million barrels a day in 2015, and 1.4
million next year, he said. Brent crude
will average $75 a barrel this year and
$80 in 2016, according to Hewitt.
Crude stockpiles shrank by 3.06 million
barrels to 382.4 million in the week
ended Jan. 2, reported the EIA, Energy
Department’s statistical arm. A median
increase of 700,000 barrels was pro-
jected in a Bloomberg survey of nine
analysts.
The nation’s crude exports climbed 34
percent to 502,000 barrels a day in
November, the most in records dating
back to 1920, data from the Census
Bureau and the EIA show. Lawmak-
ers in Washington are seeking to end
a 40-year-old law that restricts crude
salestojustafewoverseasmarkets.—
Bloomberg •
Oil holds gains after rebound as u.s. output growth seen slowing

15. By Nigel Gambanga
Just yesterday we were talking about
recharge.co.zw, the online workaround
for buying ZESA prepaid electricity that
lets you use your EcoCash and Telecash
mobile wallets as well as options like
VISA and Zimswitch.
It turns out that there’s another solu-
tion similar to this called ZymPay. Unlike
recharge.co.zw, Zympay is targeted at
the diaspora, where Zimbabweans who
handle bill payments like ZESA for folks
back home have to remit money to a
recipient who will process the payment.
This conventional route means passing
the funds through money remittance
agents like Western Union or World
Remit which has a cost attached to it
and makes the process a lot longer.
Zympay on the other hand allows a
user to handle the purchase of the
ZESA credits online via credit card. The
rechargePINissenttotheuserviaSMS
and from there it's just a matter of for-
warding it to the Zimbabwean user. The
transaction costs £1.99 and the service
is currently for UK residents only.
Just like recharge.co.zw the system is
an impressive way to beat the hassles
of lining up for ZESA prepaid tokens but
more importantly it has a value propo-
sition for UK based Zimbabweans that
have to handle obligations like ZESA for
loved ones at home.
Besides dodging high remittance costs
there’s the comfort of knowing that
you haven’t passed on money to a
third party that might not always have
the sincerest intention with your remit-
tances.
This is the same value proposition that
has been offered by services like insur-
ance aggregator Zimselector which
allows Zimbabweans around the world
to compare and buy insurance products
for local assets.
So who is ZymPay?
The UK based Zympay is the latest
entrant in the Zimbabwe focused mon-
ey-remittances market. According to
information from its site this enterprise
has been involved in foreign currency
service (Zymtravel) and is the pay-
ments facility for Zimnat Life's Diaspora
Funeral Cash Plan. The plan is to wade
into full frontal remittance services this
year.
Its ZESA payment service has taken
centre stage and comes off as the lead
service for Zympay Advantage. This
Advantage is a service suite that lets UK
based customers pay for products and
services locally like rents, insurance and
utility bills, all the while avoiding expen-
sive money transfer fees.
The money is in the diaspora, not
formal remmitances
All things being said, Zympay is coming
in with a smart model to cut into the
remittances market. Despite the focus
on ZESA prepaid the bigger play here is
handlingthemanyformsofremittances
that are being channeled from the UK
to Zimbabwe. ZESA bills are just one of
the many obligations that the diaspora
takes care of for their Zimbabwean kin.
With a reliable platform that offers a
cheaper way to send the money home
anyway (paying does it better than
sending it as cash) there is a huge mar-
ket to tap into for Zymstay or anyone
who seizes the opportunity.
Latest reports are that diaspora remit-
tances dropped to $900 million in 2014
from$2.1billionand$1.8billionin2012
and2013,respectively.Accordingtothe
National Budget this figure is expected
to drop to $840 million this year.
All this is happening in the face of more
money transfer agencies, something
that some believe indicates how the
diaspora is avoiding expensive formal
channels of remittances. Which means
that anyone with a cheaper alternative
formovingmoneyacrossborderseither
as money or as a payment will tap into
a very lucrative market.
This model looks beyond the traditional
remittance angle that EcoCash and Tel-
eCashwerescramblingforfromtheend
of 2013 and well into 2014. That’s not
to say that there’s no money there. A
billion dollar market cannot be ignored
after all.
Howevertherealitiesarethattheformal
remittances pie is shrinking and where
the money is vanishing to is where the
market should look.
Perhaps NetOne should look at expand-
ing its OneWallet along the same ZESA
payments angle and pivot from there
into a larger force in mobile money
relatedremittances?Orevenbetterstill,
any entrepreneur that understands a
business which handles a lot of funds
from the diaspora can set up his own
platform, without any mobile network. -
TechZim •
15 analysis
Selling ZESA prepaid from the UK: How Zympay is disrupting money remittances
15 analysis