By ETimes
HARARE – BRITISH International Investment and Central Africa Building Society said on Wednesday they had struck a $30 million financing partnership to boost lending to Zimbabwe’s agriculture and food export businesses.
The deal, BII’s first with CABS, forms part of the UK development finance institution’s new Zimbabwe Agriculture Finance Programme aimed at closing financing gaps in the sector.
It comprises a $20 million term loan facility signed on Wednesday and a planned $10 million trade finance facility, the companies said.
“We are delighted to partner with British International Investment to strengthen financing for businesses across Zimbabwe’s agriculture and food manufacturing sectors,” CABS managing director Mehluli Mpofu said.
“These sectors are important to Zimbabwe’s productive economy and have significant potential to support growth and exports.”
Acting British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Jo Abbot called it a milestone for UK-backed investment.
“We are delighted to see British International Investment partnering with CABS for the first time,” Abbot said.
“This new partnership highlights the growing role that UK-backed investment can play in supporting economic growth, strengthening Zimbabwe’s financial sector, and increasing access to finance for the businesses that underpin trade and agricultural development.”
BII chief investment officer Maria Smith said the financing addressed a core barrier to growth.
“Agriculture is central to Zimbabwe’s economy, but businesses need access to both long-term capital and trade finance if they are to invest, grow and reach new markets.
“Our first partnership with CABS brings these forms of financing together to address barriers across the investment and trading cycle,” Smith said.
CABS, a subsidiary of Old Mutual Zimbabwe, has previously financed horticulture, sugarcane, macadamia and grain production in the country.
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