adminLungile Tshuma Business Correspondent
MICRO-FINANCE institutions this month have seen an upsurge in business, a development that has been attributed to failure by companies to pay workers bonuses. The disappointment most workers especially civil servants have experienced due to delayed payment of bonuses has benefitted micro-finance institutions as employees have turned to money lending schemes to supplement salaries.
The Government announced that bonuses which are normally paid to civil servants in November will be received by some of its workers in January and this delay also came at a time when most companies have failed to give their employees the 13th cheque due to poor performance of the economy.
A senior member at Untu Microfinance who preferred to remain anonymous said the number of people applying for loans has increased significantly.
“We mainly experience an upsurge in the number of people applying for loans during the January disease. However, this time around it has been earlier with the Government which is the major employer having failed to give its workers the bonus on time,” said the official.
The official said they are happy with the development as business is moving well with people taking loans which range from $250 to $300.
“Most people who have approached us are nurses and teachers,” he said.
Mr Trymore Dube of Moreyields Microfinance said micro-finance institutions are now the only solution to people after the collapse of pyramid schemes which duped people thousands of dollars.
“The collapse of pyramid schemes and the failure by companies to pay workers bonuses gave us an opportunity to fill this gap. December is the month when people spend a lot and we have managed to capitalise on that,” said Mr Dube.
According to the Zimbabwe Association of Microfinance Institutions (Zamfi) information website, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe had by late last year registered 147 micro-finance institutions.
The Government raised minimum capital requirements for micro-finance institutions from $25 000 to $5 million in a move meant to upgrade their standards.
Online Reporter