Supporting inclusive growth through the inclusive finance services of AB Bank Zambia
Since their operations have started in October 2011, AB Bank Zambia has disbursed more than 140,000 business loans to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and more than 46,000 savings accounts been opened. As a a registered commercial bank part of AccessHolding, AB Bank Zambia is dedicated to providing simple, affordable, and customer-centric banking services to Zambian MSMEs. These services include loans, overdrafts, digital products, current and savings accounts, national and international payment channels. In 2017, DGGF invested in AccessHolding and AB Bank Zambia to strengthen their operations and enabling inclusive growth in this African country. Indeed, DGGF specifically seeks to support low-skilled workers, women, youth and marginalised groups. To do so, DGGF focuses on supporting 1) inclusive employment, 2) inclusive products & services, and 3) inclusive outreach.
Provision of financial services for low-income workers and rural communities
With the support of DGGF, AB Bank has developed several financial services tailored to enhance inclusive growth. In 2019, AB Bank launched its own mobile wallet eTumba, enabling clients to bank from anywhere nationwide, at any time, with any phone (both basic feature phones or smartphones) and for free since eTumba accounts have no maintenance fee. Furthermore, thanks to Yaka Savings, clients are now able to open a flexible digital savings account on eTumba, with no minimum balance, no minimum duration and at no cost. This mobile wallet and digital savings product increasing access to products and services for low-income and marginalised groups.
Moreover, AB Bank introduced a “phygital” approach to reach rural areas with both digital tools and physical presence, such as with two eTumba buses. These state-of-the-art buses go into the most remote areas of Zambia to interact with the communities and share knowledge on services accessible to them. Besides, AB Bank Zambia developed a rural strategy, strengthening partnerships to reach small-scale farmers. As a result, the bank entered in partnerships with rural actors to support climate smart farming and the development of green energy products. A vivid example of this is their partnership with Comaco, which currently operates with 220,000 farmers that supports wildlife conservation and climate smart farming. AB Bank partnered with them in order to digitize payments to farmers and to provide tailored financial services.
Supporting women led MSME
As of December 2022, the share of women borrowers within AB Bank Zambia was at 52.5%, while young customers (below 35 years old) made up 22%. Yet, In Zambia women are still marginalized when it comes to access to capital and different financial products and services. In order to reduce the gender financial literacy gap and build women’s business capacities, AB Bank Zambia launched the “Empower Her” project last February. For this project, the Bank has developed digital financial literacy training content, which is rolled out in hybrid format (both physical and digital) to women led MSME.
In addition, eTumba was specifically designed based on a women needs analysis. Now, the bank is in the process of rolling out a fully digital instant working capital loan available on eTumba and tailored to the needs of women led MSME. For example, it does not require physical loan officer assessment at client’s business premises, which will help women access funding without need to travel to the branch and leave their business or family.
