Norsad Capital, Botswana-headquartered investment firm, has channeled a US$10 million medium-term credit facility to support Central Africa Building Society (CABS) Zimbabwe’s growth strategy which is earmarked for lending to the building society’s export clients, particularly those with interest in the agricultural sector.
“This investment aligns with Norsad’s sectoral theme of financial institutions as well as the impact focus on financial inclusion and sustainable livelihoods. The transaction will capacitate the exporting industry by providing working capital and capital expenditure facilities to sectors in agriculture and manufacturing. We are excited to partner with CABS as it plays a catalytic role in unlocking opportunities to enable local farmers and SMEs (small and medium scale enterprises) to export both regionally and internationally,” said Carol-Jean Harward, investment director at Norsad Capital.
CABS
CABS is tasked to issue funds to the productive export sectors, mainly agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and tourism with an eye on boosting the country’s foreign currency earnings. According to Cecil Ndoro, deputy managing director at CABS, the investment will promote entrepreneurship, enable growth, and improve livelihoods.
CABS is one of the top three banks in Zimbabwe and was established as a building society in 1949 before being granted approval by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in 2011 to engage in full commercial banking operations.
Zimbabwe’s economic performance largely depends on developments in its agricultural sector. The country has 4,130,000 hectares of arable land, 25 percent of which is cultivated using animal and manual draught power.
 Zimbabwe’s growth strategy which is earmarked for lending to the building society’s export clients, particularly those with interest in the agricultural sector.){kind=link}