In a historic move for Zimbabwe’s financial and mining sectors, eight local banks have joined forces to secure a 36-month, $125 million syndicated loan facility for Mutapa Gold Resources (MGR).
Led by CBZ Capital as lead arranger alongside CBZ Bank, Ecobank Zimbabwe, CABS, ZB Bank, NMB Bank, FBC Bank, First Capital Bank, and AFC Commercial Bank, the facility was oversubscribed by $50 million above its initial $75 million target.
The structured deal features a six-month grace period followed by a 30-month amortisation period to fund major expansion projects at Shamva and Jena gold mines, nearly doubling MGR’s annual gold output over the next two years.
The landmark deal directly tackles long-standing concerns about shallow local funding markets by demonstrating that domestic institutions can pool resources to finance massive national assets.
MGR Chief Executive Officer Patrick Maseva-Shayawabaya noted that the overwhelming response reflects growing confidence in the domestic mining sector.
“The financial services industry in Zimbabwe surprised us. When all those participating have signed, the amount that we have raised is US125 million – US50 million more than the US75 million that we wanted. That US50 million is what we’re going to allocate to Jena.”
Engineer Gift Mapakame, General Manager of Shamva Mine, highlighted that the flagship Shamva Hill project will boost the mine’s annual output by 264% from 0.8 tonnes to 2.4 tonnes contributing an additional 6% to total national gold production while creating 1,800 jobs and improving local power, water, health, and education infrastructure.
“I’d never imagined that I would come across such a creative syndication that has been put across by our local banks today. I really have to applaud the facilitators and the bankers that have participated in this structure for a very creative structure that is breaking through the barriers that we have in terms of fundraising within the mining sector,” he said.
Financial leaders praised the collaborative model as a game-changing blueprint for funding critical national priorities without relying solely on foreign markets.
“For a very long time, banks in Zimbabwe have been accused of failing to work together, and this, for me, is a template that we must adopt even going into the future, just to show the world that as banks, we can come together and domesticate funding,” stated Gerald Gore, Chief Executive Officer of NMB Zimbabwe.
Valeta Mthimkhulu, CBZ Bank Managing Director, echoed these sentiments, stressing the broader impact of institutional unity.
“Zimbabwean financial institutions can do incredible things when they come together… If we can come together for gold today, let it be for agriculture tomorrow, for infrastructure next, and for manufacturing,” she said.
Adding to this perspective, Clement Kahiya, ZB Bank Acting Managing Director, emphasized that pooling balance sheets manages exposure while meeting heavy industrial capital demands.
“By pulling resources together, as banks, we are able to provide Mutapa with the scale of funding required while ensuring risk is shared prudently across the banking sector,” he said.
Mining serves as the primary engine of Zimbabwe’s economy, driving foreign exchange earnings, job creation, and industrial growth.
Historically, local financial institutions competed individually for smaller transactions, leaving major resource projects dependent on limited offshore facilities.
By uniting under CBZ Capital’s arrangement, the eight participating banks have established a precedent proving that domestic capital can be successfully pooled to fund large-scale, sustainable development across the nation.
