The live activation of the Col­lateral Registry System by the cen­tral bank of Zimbabwe forms part of the bank’s move to improve the ease of doing business in the country through disclosing in­formation by borrowers/debtors aimed at encouraging micro-credit growth and enhanced credit risk management in the microfinance sector.

This is also under Zimbabwe’s Movable Property Security In­terest Act 2020 (Chapter 14:35), which specifies that the Registry facilitates commerce, industry, and other socio-economic activities by enabling individuals and business­es to utilize their movable proper­ty as collateral for credit.

Speaking during the launch in Harare on Friday, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimba­bwe, Dr. John Mangudya, noted that the establishment of the Collateral Registry was in response to the Zimbabwe Banking and Financial sector to support eco­nomic growth.

“Going forward, there is the need to intensify the awareness campaigns to reach out to various stakeholders in the country to conscientise the public about this good news of collateral registry established here in Zimbabwe in terms of the law of this country,” he said.

Governor Dr Mangudya ex­pressed the central bank’s appreci­ation to software system supplier, Bsystems from Ghana for devel­oping a Collateral Registry System to the bank’s expectations.

“We look forward to continuing support during the implementa­tion stage of our collective efforts to improve our credit infrastruc­ture,” he added.

In his remark, the Chief Execu­tive Officer of Bsystems Limited, Thomas Baafi, said Bsystems had, over the years, blazed the trail of developing top-notch cutting-edge IT-based business solutions, including the Electronic ID Ver­ification, Smart HR and Payroll, and PeoplePay, a mobile payment platform.

According to him, introducing the collateral registry through a digital platform would allow many Zimbabweans to access its services in real time using their phones or computers.

Mr Baafi lauded officials of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) for their immense support in getting the online Registry to go live.

The Registry is an online public database that allows financial institutions to register security interests in movable property and mitigate the risk to customers. With the introduction of the collateral registry, banks should be able to diversify their credit portfolio from mostly corporates to include small and medium enterprises.

The Bsystems Collateral Reg­istry System software solution has been adopted by the Central Banks and Registrar General’s Department of nine other Afri­can countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Malawi, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Mozambique.