Rutendo Chirume
Despite government’s much-vaunted ‘leaving no one and no place behind’, women and the youth in Mberengwa Central still find it difficult to access to loans and government support programmes due to such factors as lack of collateral.
Youth, women, and small-scale farmers who spoke to EnviroPress said although the youth finance institution EmpowerBank and the Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinace Bank (ZYMB) were good initiatives, their services remained largely out of their reach.
Speaking during a focus group discussion facilitated by Southern Africa Trust (SAT) at Mberengwa Rural District Council offices on May O9, 2025, participants said collateral requirements were a hindrance against rural people’s access to potentially life-changing financial opportunities.
“Many women-headed families here in Ward 37 need help to access the funding. At one time, we came together as six community women and submitted a proposal with the Women’s Bank but we did not succeed because we did not have the required collateral,” said Roina Moyo, a widow.
Tsitsi Matumba said a group of young female farmers submitted an unsuccessful proposal to the bank due to lack of collateral.
“As a group of eight young farmers, we wanted to start a poultry project, and we completed the necessary paperwork but we are still waiting for the loan to be approved. The structures we built have deteriorated, and some group members have lost hope and left the community to seek better opportunities elsewhere. Only three of us remain, and we are on the verge of giving up,” she said.
Ward 37 Councilor Justin Mawombera said attempts to elicit the assistance of the Ministry of Women Affairs had so far not yielded the expected results.
“The concerns raised by these women are valid. Despite multiple meetings with the Ministry of Women Affairs, it’s clear that bank finance has not reached the people who need it the most. Often, only one group per district benefits, and the rest of the people do not,” said Mawombera.
To address this issue, he said, the government should spread awareness on application requirements, and work to soften collateral obligations.
Mberegwa district officer in the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Development, and Vocational Training, Shuvai Matava said the it was unfortunate that opportunities for women and youth people remained scarce in the expansive district.
“We try to bring awareness of new opportunities created by government but progress is slow because the district is huge but road and communication networks are poor,” said Matava.
