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NewsDay

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Zimpost hit by liquidity challenges

Business
ZIMPOST says it has been operating below capacity from the beginning of the year to date due to working capital constraints and liquidity challenges characterising most business operations in the country.

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

ZIMPOST says it has been operating below capacity from the beginning of the year to date due to working capital constraints and liquidity challenges characterising most business operations in the country.

“Zimpost has been operating below capacity from the beginning of the year to date. The capacity of business to generate revenue has been affected by the working capital constraints and liquidity challenges characterising most business operations,” the company’s acting managing director Sifundo Moyo told NewsDay in emailed responses.

Moyo, who could not provide revenue figures, said the trading environment was quite challenging and this has negatively impacted on the company’s performance.

“The working capital constraints have also affected stock availability, thus curtailing sales growth. We are working closely with our partners and there is still very much work in progress and at the right time we will certainly come into the market with a service that is tailor-made for our customers and comparable with the leading global products,” he said.

Most companies in Zimbabwe are currently struggling to keep afloat due to the tough economic environment, coupled with high inflationary pressures, power outages and liquidity challenges among other operational bottlenecks.

Zimpost recently introduced Post Bureau de Change services which Moyo said have been warmly received by the market.

He said the e-commerce project that Zimpost was embarking on “is bound to leapfrog in terms of business volumes as we sign on more e-sellers onto the platform. This is the base for postal transformation and the future for online shopping.”

Going forward, Moyo said the gap between their target sales or revenues and the actual realised volumes will be narrowed by year end.

“Zimpost is working towards turning around the fortunes of business in the next few years through a number of measures that the company has put in place,” he said.

The company is running a low-cost money transfer service, Zipcash that allows customers to send or receive money locally and internationally through the postal network.

Currently, the company is carrying out transactions using Zipcash with countries such as Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania.

Zimpost is also an agent for other international money transfer partners such as Mukuru, World Remit, Money Gram, Hello Paisa and Western Union.