WOMEN empowerment group Rock the Red Business Hub has partnered with ZB Bank Financial Holdings in a bid to use the financial institution as a conduit for women to access funds from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Women Empowerment Fund.

Speaking at a women empowerment and launch of a motivational book, The Red Lipstick Stays On in Bulawayo recently, Rock the Red Business Hub founder Pastor Abigail Magwenzi said the organisation was engaged in negotiations with ZB Bank Women’s Desk to assist women to access loans through the RBZ Women Empowerment Fund as well as the financial institute’s facilities.

“We started engaging with ZB Bank to enable our women to access the RBZ Empowerment Fund. We feel the Fund is heavily underutilised with about $12 million of the $15 million Fund still to be disbursed to date, largely due to issues to do with collateral. In that we have agreed that Rock the Red Business Hub submits 10 projects immediately through the ZB Bank Women’s Desk for consideration,” said Pastor Magwenzi.

ZB Bank is one of the banks that were identified by RBZ to issue the women empowerment funds and is one of the 11 financial institutions to set up a Women’s Desk. A ZB Bank representative Ms Nomagugu Moyo said presently the loan facility could only be accessed by employed women and those operating registered companies while negotiations are ongoing for it to be all-inclusive.

“For one to qualify there are two options, you can access this facility based on a salary so we are still supporting those in formal employment under the women empowerment facility. For those who are working your salary should be coming through ZB Bank for at least three months. The business proposal is the basic requirement.

“For those who have got registered companies we would also need the company documents, that’s on option number two where we are now giving the women who are not under formal employment. So we are covering all women, for those who are not under formal employment you need to have collateral,” said Moyo.

The maximum loan requirement is pegged at $10 000.