By Thomas Mupfuka
NMBZ Holdings has secured US$20 million in lines of credit for Zimbabwean exporters that are struggling to access foreign currency, a top official has revealed.
Zimbabwean companies are struggling to import critical raw materials, pay suppliers and meet other foreign currency requirements, which has impacted negatively on their capacity to produce quality goods.
NMBZ chief executive Ben Washaya told Standardbusiness that a regional institution, which he declined to name, would avail the funds in the coming weeks.
He said the facility would benefit exporters who will access foreign currency-based loans.
“The credit line will be exclusively for exporters,” he said.
“It has been a long process, and sometimes there were things which would be outside our control, but what I am aware of is that the process has gone through all the legal stages and all due diligence on NMB has been done and they are happy.
“We have signed the term sheets and all that. The beneficiaries will be largely agricultural, mining and a bit of tourism business, those who export and earn forex.
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“This was motivated by what has happened in our economy before. So, we believe exports will be the right target.”
Some of the country’s biggest companies such as Delta and Dairibord Zimbabwe have scaled down operations while the majority of firms are on the brink of closing down due to an acute shortage of foreign currency.
The government early this year introduced an interbank market for foreign currency, which saw some companies accessing money, but many still struggle to get anything from the formal market.
Delta Corporation CEO Joel Gowero last month told this publication that the interbank market could not meet the company’s foreign currency requirements of US$5 million per month.
During the first eight months of this year, Zimbabwe received over US$4 billion in foreign currency mostly from diaspora remittances and tobacco as well as mineral exports.
