NMBZ targets US$120m credit lines
STAFF WRITER
Financial services group, NMBZ Holdings Limited, targets to reach US$120m credit lines with US$50m already secured for exporters, an executive with the lender has said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the analyst briefing, group CEO, Gerald Gore said the lender will continue to seek more credit lines amid massive demand from exporters.
“We have managed to draw down US$50m during phase one, and we are targeting another US$70m before the end of the year. If you recall, I think last year, I promised that we were targeting US$120m in terms of financial credit, so we are on course to achieve that,” Gore stated.
He didn’t disclose where he will source the US$70m but revealed that from the current drawdowns he accessed US$25m each from Afreximbank and TDB.
The money is meant to benefit local companies, particularly the SMEs.
The facilities are instrumental in enabling NMB to provide crucial trade finance support to a wider range of Zimbabwean businesses.
This will not only unlock new trade opportunities but also contribute to job creation and economic growth.
The agreement aligns perfectly with Afreximbank’s broader trade finance programme objectives, with a specific focus on supporting the vital role of SMEs in Africa’s economic development as SMEs often face challenges in accessing trade finance compared to their larger counterparts.
Gore said the group has significantly grown during the half year.
“Our market value moved from US$61.4m in June of 2025 to US$91.3m in June of 2026.So you can slowly see a reflection of the true value of the business,” he said.
Return on equity moved from US$2.69m million to US$21.49m while core income moved from US$27.7m to US$41m, a 48% increase.
“Profit after tax from US$1m to $12.7m. And that increase is driven by our business income, I think we’ve increased our lending activities, and then I think about what we’ve done on EFC and the budget purchase as well from that acquisition,” Gore added.
In terms of shareholder funds, the group grew 13% from US$84m in December to US$95.2m in June.
NMBZ balance sheet moved from US$340m to US$477m.
The group didn’t pay a dividend in the interim in June of 2025 but during the first six months of the year it declared an interim dividend of US$2.8m this time around.
Going forward, NMBZ has taken a deliberate strategy to build NMB to become an AI-engineered bank and it has started to invent AI in its operations.
“For example, in our side bank, we run a 24-hour security operations center. Probably the only bank in this market that does that. And that security operations center is actually run by AI agents.
So we have agents that do threat hunting, environments, and then they’re immediate. If they see a threat, they actually, you know, are telling you. Our account opening, again, was invented by AI agents,” he noted.
“So there’s what we call agentic AI, where we use agents, you know, AI agents, to actually do an account opening. So the process of verification, you know, face recognition, IT verification, when you send us your ID, you can actually have agents that will be able to copy your face and your ID. Your face, everything, you know, your agent will be able to do that.”