Online Reporter
Sikhulekelani Moyo
Zimpapers Business Hub
THE Victoria Falls International Financial Services Centre (VFIFSC) is positioning itself as a competitive financial services zone to attract investment capital into Zimbabwe and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Already, the Government recently licensed its first 38 inaugural institutions, transitioning the project from policy to full-scale operations.
The centre will have a deliberate strong bias towards fintech, innovation and regulation of virtual assets that remain unregulated in much of Africa.
VFIFSC chief legal officer Ms Meluleki Sibanda said this during a webinar hosted by the Zimbabwe Association of Pension Funds (ZAPF) yesterday.
Ms Sibanda said VFIFSC is a financial services zone designed to provide an enabling environment for capital to flow into Zimbabwe and Sub-Saharan Africa, with innovation at its core.
Its key capital attraction mechanisms include hard-currency certainty, as it operates strictly in foreign currency, which shields international funds from domestic volatility.
The centre also provides easy profit repatriation and dividend payouts.
Additionally, it offers competitive tax breaks, reduces transaction costs in capital markets and attracts offshore banks, family offices and fintechs.
The VFIFC is meant to provide deep liquidity channels for regional development, connecting global investors directly to SADC opportunities, including Zimbabwe.
Ms Sibanda said VFIFC’s vision is centred on dynamic innovation.
“So, we are very strong on fintech and innovation. We have got a digital instrument that addresses how fintech is going to be regulated and established within the International Financial Centre,” she said.
“This covers the gap that you find within the African region whereby virtual assets in your stable coins, your cryptocurrencies and all those classes, are not regulated.
“So, at the International Financial Centre, we want to set the pace within Africa and also in the international community in terms of how virtual assets are accepted, regulated, monitored and supervised within a regulated framework.”
She said the centre also wants to create a hub of knowledge and expertise, noting that Zimbabwe has lagged in financial sector development.
