NMB’s 2022 Agribusiness Success Story summary and 2023 projection
NMB Bank’s objective when it comes to agriculture is to empower players to enable them to retool, invest in new technologies and keep abreast with international trends so as to compete in the global arena as well as to complement the government’s efforts to promote exports and boost the country’s economy.
To support this NMB Bank intends to grow the exporter's book so it accounts for 60% of the Bank's United States Dollar lending, underpinned by the utilization of lines of credit from the European Investment Bank (EIB), Trade Development Bank (TDB), African Export–Import Bank (Afrexim) and other foreign funders.
In 2022 key milestones in Agribusiness included:
- Establishment of footprint in the Horticulture sector, with USD$ 5.5 million in the blueberry sub-sector and US$13.126 million worth of assets in the Horticulture sector approved and disbursed.
- ZWL 2 Billion, under the Agro bill, successfully raised in the market and deployed to top farmers in 2022. This represented a 100% success rate on the Agro bill.
- The Bank fully utilized the EIB Euro12.5 million line of credit, which was deployed 100% to exporters, with 60% of the line outlaid to blueberry farming.
2023 outlook:
- The Bank is targeting to fund 30% (300 hectares) of blueberries out of the projected 1,000 hectares national target. This translates to a loan book size of USD 22.5 million under the blueberry sub-sector.
- Engagements in beef sectors targeting beef short-cycle pen-fattening and dairy models.
- The government has entered a livestock growth plan which is expected to turn the agriculture industry into an US$8.2 billion industry by 2025 with dairy US$1.9 billion of that economy. Dairy production and productivity are directly linked to herd size, quality, and nutrition. NMB Bank has targeted a 10% market share to the total national industry.
- In efforts to support the government tenets in achieving USD 8.2 billion industries by 2025, NMB Bank is expecting to raise USD 5 million and ZWL5 billion agro-bill aimed at raising money to fund the 2023 winter and summer season. The agro-bill will provide affordable financing to farmers in horticulture and oilseeds (cottonseed, sunflower seed, soya beans, groundnuts, and Sesame), grain (wheat, barley, and maize), and livestock production.