Women’s Bank bemoans underfunding 

Source: Women’s Bank bemoans underfunding – NewsDay Zimbabwe

BY HARRIET CHIKANDIWA

ZIMBABWE Women’s Microfinance Bank chief executive Mandas Marikanda has blamed underfunding for the bank’s failure to provide loans for women and youth projects.

Marikanda yesterday appeared before the Parliamentary Thematic Committee on Gender and Development where she told senators that the majority of rural women and youth had no access to banking services.

“The Women’s Bank remains underfunded as it exhausted the $250 million that it was given in 2021 during the second quarter of the year,” Marikanda said.

“In order for the bank to serve 100 000 women per province, it requires meaningful investment by shareholders and their departmental partners,” she said, adding that lack of support from spouses had made uptake of loans low among women.

“Women lack support from spouses when accessing loans due to the historical set-up of families whereby the husband makes all decisions in the household.”

She said other factors that hindered women from accessing loans were discriminatory customary laws, for example, those that discriminate women from owing land and assets.

Marikanda said the high dependency syndrome hindered women and youth from accessing loans to fund their projects.