The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is preparing to roll out securitised financial instruments backed by diaspora remittances, in a bold attempt to unlock billions of dollars sent home annually and funnel the funds into capital markets, the Zimbabwe Independent has learnt.
The central bank hopes the initiative —part of ongoing financial sector reforms — will inject liquidity into Zimbabwe’s fragile capital markets, broaden financing options, and catalyse economic revival.
Every year, Zimbabwe’s diaspora remits more than US$1 billion, much of it consumed in household spending. But authorities now want to divert part of that flow into long-term development.
Securitisation involves bundling financial assets such as remittances or debt into securities that can be sold to investors, who then earn income from the underlying cash flows.
In an exclusive interview with the Independent on the sidelines of the African Development Bank’s presentation of Zimbabwe’s outlook this week, RBZ deputy governor Innocent Matshe said the plan would deepen capital markets —though he declined to disclose funding expectations, saying such information would only be revealed at the right time.
“These instruments will be announced as we introduce them so that we do not pre-empt the market,” Matshe told the Independent.
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“But the idea is to achieve a broader base of capital in order to deepen our capital markets,” he added.
“So, not only to rely on conventional instruments, but to think through how you can use current market instruments in an environment like ours, that is a very shallow market, to try and increase the capacity of the markets themselves to grow business.”
The strategy is a response to Zimbabwe’s protracted economic crisis, which over the past 25 years has hollowed out financial institutions once considered some of Africa’s most robust. Banks, insurance firms, pension funds and other traditional funding channels are reeling, forcing authorities to look elsewhere for capital.
Zimbabwe’s diaspora — estimated at between three and five million — is now seen as a viable funding source. It is not the first time the central bank has tapped this route.
In the early 2000s, then-governor Gideon Gono launched the Homelink initiative, which encouraged Zimbabweans abroad to invest in real estate back home. Many homes were constructed at the time, with the government benefitting through accessing foreign currency.
Matshe this week pointed to securitisation of future flows — including remittances — as the model now under consideration.
“Not just remittances, but including remittances,” he clarified.
He explained that the planned instruments would be structured using external credit-rated sources of the remittances—thus removing Zimbabwe’s sovereign risk from the equation and anchoring the securities on more stable jurisdictions.
This, Matshe said, would enable Zimbabwe to access capital at relatively lower interest rates while making the instruments attractive to global investors.
“One job that goes out of Zimbabwe, if it goes out legally, it is okay,” Matshe said, alluding to the economic exodus that has gutted the country’s skills base since 2000.
“But let us now find a mechanism to use that to raise capital for Zimbabwe. That way, we can bring back those jobs applied for several times.”
Still, Matshe admitted that restoring trust and market confidence was crucial if these plans were to succeed.
“Once we do that, we can then be in a position to tailor instruments that will be attractive so that government securities, Treasury Bills, become attractive to the market,” he said.
“So, that is what we, from a monetary side, will be looking at.”
However, the RBZ’s latest pitch comes against a backdrop of widespread scepticism.
Treasury Bills — one of the country’s key debt instruments — have long been tainted by controversy.
The government has faced allegations of abuse, including issuing TBs without parliamentary approval, by-passing key oversight mechanisms.
Such scandals have driven many market players to shun government paper, further complicating efforts to raise funds through formal channels.
Calls are also growing louder within Zimbabwe’s business and financial sectors for the government to securitise mineral resources, arguing that doing so could unlock significant value and provide immediate relief to the country’s deepening liquidity crunch.
Meanwhile, official data shows that diaspora remittances remain on a growth trajectory.
In February 2025, Zimbabwe recorded a 7,5% year-on-year increase in diaspora inflows, with US$165 million received — up from US$153.8 million in February 2024.
The bulk came from Zimbabweans based in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.Legal and media experts are now urging the repeal of Zimbabwe’s vague insult laws. They argue that the charge of “undermining the authority of the President” is overly broad, easily abused and dangerous in the hands of those allergic to scrutiny.
But scrutiny is exactly what satire offers. It is not an attack on a leader’s dignity — it is a litmus test of the president’s tolerance, the state’s maturity and society’s freedom.
As the Centre for Human Rights aptly put it: “Suppressing the media is not a show of strength. It is an admission of fear.”
In Nairobi, The Africa Editors Forum (TAEF) said it “strongly condemns the arrest of Faith Zaba, a respected journalist and editor, and views this as a blatant attack on press freedom and the fundamental right to free expression”.
“Zaba’s detention by Zimbabwean authorities is part of a worrying trend of harassment, intimidation and judicial persecution of journalists across Africa, aimed at silencing critical voices and undermining the media’s role as a watchdog of democracy.
“TAEF calls for her immediate and unconditional release and demands that authorities respect the rights of journalists to carry out their work without fear of retribution. A free press is essential for transparency, accountability, economic growth and good governance.
“The targeting of journalists not only violates constitutional and international human rights obligations, but also erodes public trust in democratic institutions. TAEF urges the Zimbabwean government to drop all charges against Zaba and to cease all forms of harassment against media practitioners.”