AFI and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) have organized a three-day training event in Harare, exploring how to boost financial literacy among women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (WMSMEs).

“The small business sector is a key pillar for economic growth and employment creation in Zimbabwe, but high levels of financial illiteracy are holding women-led MSMEs back,” said P.T. Madamombe, RBZ Director of Bank Supervision. “This training will facilitate the design of targeted responses to financial education gaps and barriers to financial services.”

Day One began with an overview of financial literacy in Zimbabwe, followed by discussions on how financial education can serve as a pathway to financial well-being of women-led MSMEs, and on integrating vulnerable groups into national financial education programs.

Day Two delved into the conceptualization of National Financial Education Strategies (NFES), the role of financial education in promoting credit facilities and infrastructure for women-led MSMEs, how to address digital financial literacy needs, and the role of central bankers and regulatory authorities in financial education initiatives, featuring input from guest speakers from the Moroccan Foundation for Financial Education (FMEF) and the Reserve Bank of Malawi on how to develop curricula for training financial educators.

The final day focused on developing an implementation plan and monitoring & evaluation framework for NFES, and concluded with participants developing action plans for financial education interventions tailored to WMSMEs in Zimbabwe.

Looking forward, RBZ intends to adapt its WMSME financial literacy initiatives in order to produce similarly targeted programs for other key populations, including youth, people with disabilities, and rural farmers.

This In-Country Training is supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) program. The AFAWA program seeks to facilitate improved access to financial services by women led MSMEs through advancing a holistic and enabling regulatory ecosystem in various African countries”