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NewsDay

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GMRI snaps up local micro-financier

Business
Investment and advisory firm, GMRI Finance, has acquired a 100% shareholding in a local micro-financier, as it spreads its wings, a decade after being founded by entrepreneur Gilbert Muponda.

Investment and advisory firm, GMRI Finance, has acquired a 100% shareholding in a local micro-financier, as it spreads its wings, a decade after being founded by entrepreneur Gilbert Muponda.

BY BUSINESS REPORTER

The acquisition of Outcome Financial Services was approved by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on January 12.

An executive told NewsDay last week that the newly-acquired micro-financier would provide short-term funding for small-to-medium enterprises in the form of bridging loans.

It will also offer finance, salary- based loans, order finance, debt factoring and agency banking in addition to mobile money services.

The executive said despite the sector having many players, 90% of business was concentrated in five players, showing the need for innovation and well capitalised entities.

“Five players control 90% of the market. It means that the market is ripe for an innovative player who is well capitalised. The player should leverage on technology such as mobile money transfer,” he said.

The executive said the micro-financier would also advance loans to those living outside the country to do some projects such as housing development. The loans would be paid through remittances, he said.

In his 2016 mid-term monetary policy statement, central bank governor,John Mangudya said total loans for the micro-finance sector were $183,4 million as at June 30, 2016 from $187,2m as at December 31, 2015.

Mangudya said while productive lending was still below consumptive lending, the sector has registered notable re-orientation of the micro-finance lending portfolios towards productive lending.

Consumptive lending declined to 54% as at June 30, 2016 from 70,9% in 2013. GMRI recently bailed out a start-up airline to begin operations after several false starts.

This came after the project finance team recently concluded the structuring and arrangement for equity and debt financing for Rainbow Airlines to service the local and regional markets.

Rainbow Airlines will begin three weekly flights on the Harare-Johannesburg route next month.