Online Reporter
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
Zimbabwe’s largest financial services group by deposits, CBZ Holdings Limited, intends to expand its footprint beyond traditional banking into the fast-growing digital technology services sector through the acquisition of a minority stake in local technology firm Dokuma Private Limited.
The Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) is investigating the proposed transaction for any potential violation of competition rules in the domestic market.
CBZ Holdings is a diversified financial services group with investments across several key sectors, primarily focused on financial services, property development and agriculture.
The group operates through nine key subsidiaries, including CBZ Bank, CBZ Capital, Datvest, CBZ Life, CBZ Agro-Yield and CBZ Properties.
In a public notice issued under the Competition Act, CTC indicated plans by CBZ to acquire 17,52 percent shareholding in Dokuma, a Zimbabwean digital infrastructure and information technology firm involved in several high-profile Government digitisation projects.
The commission said the investigation will determine whether the transaction is likely to substantially lessen competition in Zimbabwe or result in a monopoly situation contrary to public interest.
“The commission hereby gives notice to all interested stakeholders and the public to submit their written representations, not later than March 30, 2026,” the regulator said.
The potential deal signals CBZ’s growing appetite for investments beyond traditional banking, particularly in sectors aligned with government digital transformation.
Dokuma has been involved in several major digitalisation initiatives across Zimbabwe.
These include the digitisation of deeds records in Harare and Bulawayo, the Presidential Title Deed programme, as well as the development of an online deeds platform designed to modernise property transactions.
The company has also built systems supporting municipal business licensing in Harare, a tractor fleet management platform for more than 3 000 Government-supported tractors and digital infrastructure such as the Toruka Data Centre.
If approved, the investment would give CBZ a foothold in a company increasingly embedded in Government digital service delivery.
Analysts say the move reflects a broader shift by banks globally toward technology and data infrastructure investments.
