Empower Bank targets $260m youth loans this year

STATE-OWNED Empower Bank has set a target of disbursing loans worth about $260 million to youths countrywide by the end of the year.

Empower Bank is a micro-banking unit created by the Government in 2018 to specifically support different youth initiatives in order to achieve economic empowerment and financial inclusion.

The bank mobilises youths through financial literacy and project proposal training so that they present bankable business proposals in order to access funding.

A team from the bank was in Hwange district recently where it met 80 youths who are into different businesses in Victoria Falls and Hwange town.

After meeting the youths, the team toured a number of projects being implemented by the youths to assess their viability.

The idea is to give youths access to inputs and markets, said the bank’s acting chief executive officer, Mr Shadreck Mhembere. He said loans were readily available at Empower Bank for those with bankable project proposals.

“We facilitate access to loans for young people hence we want them to come up with bankable business proposals and we fund them. When one applies for a loan, we visit to assess and evaluate things put in the project proposal. The loans are readily available and our teams are on the ground for assessment and training,” said Mr Mhembere.

He said the target this year was to disburse loans worth $260 million.

“We get funding from the Government through allocation of capital and we should be receiving some funds soon,” said Mr Mhembere.
He said what is encouraging is that several youths who have benefitted from the loans are doing very well.

“We are very much aware that youths have no collateral hence we do not insist on collateral but just bankable business proposal,” said Mr Mhembere.

One of the youths Mr Clemence Chirwa who is into rabbit keeping and poultry rearing in Victoria Falls, said the visit by Empower Bank officials was a confidence booster for youths.

“We are happy that they are here to assess projects and hope that the loans will come to fruition. We wish they could open a local branch so that we do not travel to Bulawayo for services,” he said.

Another youth Mr Cletos Mashoko who runs a leather products enterprise said his business had been affected by Covid-19 hence the need for capital injection.

Zanu-PF Hwange District Co-ordinating Committee (DCC) invited the bank to train youths on economic empowerment and financial inclusion.

The party’s secretary for youth affairs in the district Veronica Maligo who is into catering business said:

“The attendance by youths shows how hungry they are for empowerment and that they now have faith in the Government empowerment programmes, which will surely help in achieving set targets in line with Vision 2030 and National Development Strategy (NDS1).” —chroncle.cl.zw