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Charity Ruzvidzo Business Reporter
CABINET has approved the establishment of a Women’s Bank, to increase access by women to financial services, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced yesterday.

Chinamasa said the new bank will improve credit availability to women to support their enterprises and income generating projects.

“Zim-Asset recognises that women are an integral part of Zimbabwe’s socio-economic transformation. In this regard facilitating their access to credit through formal institutions will overcome their financial exclusion,” he told Parliament.

“I’m therefore pleased to report that Cabinet approved the setting up of a Women’s Bank whose main objective is to increase access by women to financial services.

“This would also be consistent with the constitution, which requires practical action towards empowerment of women in order to facilitate their active participation in the mainstream of economic activities.”

Chinamasa, presenting his 2015 budget statement, said $5 million has already been set aside for the bank’s capitalisation.

“In this regard, I’ve set aside $5m towards the capitalisation of the Women’s Bank in support of women’s entrepreneurship.

“The bank, which will be established as a micro-finance bank, is expected to be operational in 2015 as a Tier III institution in terms of the Banking Act,” he said.

Chinamasa said facilitating women’s access to credit through formal institutions will be a small step to addressing their financial exclusion.

A further $400,000 was allocated to training programmes to improve women’s financial literacy and business skills.

“The government will be coordinating, through the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development, sectoral gender mainstreaming initiatives as guided by the National Gender Policy,” the minister said.

“Entrepreneurship training of women complemented by interventions to increase access to markets of their products should also facilitate their mainstreaming into overall economic activities.”