eBusiness Weekly
Panashe Chikonyora
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed entity, Cassava Smartech Zimbabwe Limited (CSZL), recorded a strong performance for the nine months to November 2019, despite the challenging macroeconomic environment that was characterised by subdued consumer demand.
The group continues to maintain its growth trajectory as it recorded a 19 percent increase in mobile money transactions from the 3rd quarter for the year 2019 to the third quarter for the year 2020, while the number of mobile money active customers went up by 17 percent during the same period.
The strong performance comes as customers now tend to favour using mobile and digital banking platforms due to their convenience and availability, in an environment where cash has become scarce.
During the same period under review the number of banking customers increased by 75 percent, while life policies and short-term policies grew by 17 and 50 percent respectively.
“The bank has, however, recorded a decline in transactions on its Point of Sale terminals by an average of 46 percent from the third quarter for the year 2019 to the third quarter for
the year 2020, a trend which is commensurate with declining volumes in the retail sector as consumers’ disposable incomes fail to keep up with inflation,” said CSZL through its secretary Charmaine Daniels in a statement.
“The EcoSure and Moovah businesses have managed to maintain their claims ratios at a level lower than the industry average,” added Daniels.
Going forward, Daniels said the group anticipates growth and an improvement as it assured to look into new opportunities to help provide reliable services that will be relevant to their customers changing demands.
“The Zimbabwe operating environment remains challenging for businesses to operate in.
“The board and management will continue to focus on identifying and developing opportunities in the market that are consistent with the changing customer demands without compromising on service excellence.
“The unique synergies inherent in the group’s businesses have given us an opportunity to bundle products and leverage on shared services to effectively launch and scale new services,” she said.
The group recently launched several products and services — Ecocash Bureau De Change, VAYA Tractor Services and Clean City Zimbabwe during the period under review for its half year ended August 31, 2019 financial results.
