Lion Microfinance re-licensed

Harare, (New Ziana)- The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said on Wednesday it had re-licensed Lion Microfinance Limited to conduct deposit taking microfinance business.

Lion Microfinance was closed in July 2019, and put under the management of the Deposit Protection Corporation, due to under capitalisation and weak governance issues.

Having successfully undergone the recuperative process, the central bank last month announced the lifting of the curatorship and that the DPC would hand over management of the institution to its owners.

But the apex bank said resumption of business would only follow after the MFI had put in place the “necessary systems and structures” to its satisfaction.

On Wednesday, the RBZ said, “It is hereby notified that following the upliftment of curatorship on 30 September 2020, Lion Microfinance Limited has been re-licensed and authorised to commence deposit-taking microfinance business in terms of the Microfinance Act with effect from 23 November, 2020.”

Lion becomes one of the few institutions to successfully undergo curatorship as most which have faced the same challenge have gone under.

Unlike ordinary MFIs which are in the business of issuing short term loans, deposit taking MFIs are a special breed, which are involved in both lending micro-loans and taking deposits from the public.

The minimum capital threshold for the institutions is set at US$5 million.
New Ziana