eBusiness Weekly
Michael Tome
HARARE – Agribank has introduced sustained multi-layered initiatives towards expanded deposit mobilisation programmes, chief executive officer Sam Malaba has said.
He revealed this at the 2019 edition of Agribank’s schools deposit competition national draw held in the capital last week.
Agribank said the schools deposit competition was formulated to increase deposits and as from the year 2017 Agribank managed to increase its deposits by 35 percent to $6, 2 million from the $4, 6 million realised in 2016.
The institution has now set a target to increase schools deposits by no less than 40 percent per annum in 2019 going forward.
Earlier this year the Agribank revealed intentions to attain US$100 million capitalisation by January 2020, predominantly for agriculture financing and development.
“Financing agriculture requires significantly high levels of deposits for both capital expenditure and working capital and the schools deposit competition is one such program allowing Agribank to achieve simultaneously the mutually interrelated objectives of deposit mobilisation.
“Since achieving turnaround and profitability in 2016 the bank has been expanding support to its core mandate- agriculture financing and development while at the same time expanding commercial banking initiatives particularly in the area of deposit mobilisation,” said Mr Malaba.
However, the Agribank schools deposit competition national draw saw Chifamba High school of Guruve winning the grand prize of Grandtiger single cab as Norton 1 primary school and Mtombowesizwe primary school from Bulawayo managed to be the first and second runners up walking away with money prize of $50 000 and $25 000 respectively.
Cheziya high school of Gokwe won the forth price for being the highest depositor as the school maintained a$500 000 deposit for the duration of the competition.
Baines Infant school, Chibuwe high school, Marymount mission, St Lukes Jemedza, Norton 2 Primary school, Wise Owl , Mount Sunset primary school and Mtshabezi high school all managed to walk away with $2000 apiece as consolation prices.
