Movable Collateral Registry expands access to credit for women

Sidumisile MabenaSidumisile Mabena Bmetro, Chronicle, Sunday News March 2, 2026 0 Comments

Nqobile Bhebhe

Men continue to account for higher overall volumes of movable collateral pledged in Zimbabwe but women are increasingly utilising movable assets particularly within lower to mid-value categories, a development the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says reflects growing financial inclusion and rising confidence in formal lending systems.Made in Zimbabwe branding

Latest figures contained in the RBZ’s Monetary Policy Statement presented last Friday, data on the Collateral Registry show that while men lead in most asset classes by value and volume, women are actively participating across a broad spectrum of movable assets.

“Although men continue to pledge higher volumes overall, women are actively utilising movable assets, particularly within the lower to mid-value categories, which reflects increasing financial inclusion and confidence in formal lending systems” RBZ Governor Dr John Mushayavanhu said in his presentation.

According to the data, private vehicles remain the most commonly pledged asset, with 1 412 registered by men compared to 703 by women.

In the household goods category, men pledged 820 items while women accounted for an even higher 912, marking one of the few categories where women outpaced their male counterparts.

In the National Collateral Guarantee Scheme-backed (NCGB) category, men registered 675 assets compared to 470 by women.

For trucks, 554 were pledged by men against 220 by women, while in the agriculture equipment category, 345 assets were registered by men compared to 55 by women.

The trend continues in categories such as buses (200 men, 90 women), livestock (150 men, 90 women), and “other” movable assets which include motorcycles, trailers and other items yet to be fully classified where men registered 110 compared to 85 by women.

The RBZ has consistently underscored the importance of the Movable Collateral Registry in unlocking credit for previously underserved groups, particularly women and small-scale entrepreneurs who may not possess immovable property such as land or buildings.

The data also shows limited activity across both genders in highly specialised categories such as intellectual property (35 men, 19 women), stock of raw materials (5 men, 3 women), maize (1 each), and shareholdings (1 each), indicating that the registry remains predominantly driven by tangible movable assets.

Since its establishment, the Collateral Registry has been instrumental in broadening access to credit by allowing borrowers to use movable property as security, a shift that aligns with the Government’s financial inclusion agenda.