Chairperson’s statement
Introduction
For the half year ended 31st August 2022, Ecocash Holdings has continued to make positive economic and social impact on the lives of people in Zimbabwe through financial inclusion. We have accelerated our digital transformation, disrupting ourselves to positively impact the lives of people. Despite the challenging operating environment during the period under review, we have continued to identify and pursue new opportunities, formulating winning strategies to drive business performance and positive socio-economic impact.
Business Highlights
Our mandate is to transform the lives of people in Zimbabwe through digital technology, and we are pleased to report on some key innovations we launched over the period. Through the mobile money business, we launched EcoCash Bill Manager, a platform that aggregates service providers and allows customers to conveniently pay their bills. This product is transforming the payments space as we make further enhancements to cater for the various use-cases. We have, to date, over 200 000 customers onboarded on the platform. We launched the EcoCash chatbot, an AI driven customer experience solution to improve efficiencies in query resolution as well as improve the overall mobile money experience. Through this innovation, we have started to record positive gains on our customer effort scores from the 250 000 registered customers. We are happy to harness these new technologies to enhance our value proposition, reduce customer pain points and improve financial services adoption.
Building on the success of the first phase of our digital transformation “Purple Ark,” Steward Bank continued the journey with the commencement of the second phase of the upgrade. The second phase will see an increased automation and digitalization of the Bank’s systems and processes as well as enhanced capacity to launch new banking innovations. The Bank also further enhanced its digital products offering through the revamp of the low Know-Your-Customer (KYC) iSave accounts platform. Following the revamp, we managed to onboard 234 000 customers on iSave accounts and achieved a 10% reduction in mobile banking registration queries.
We have continued to build around the core life and short-term insurance products for the Insurtech business focusing on expanding our channel network to enhance service delivery and experience across all our insurance products. The group also continues to develop the value proposition of our nascent businesses, which have exhibited potential for growth and scale, going into the future.
Inflation adjusted financial Performance
EcoCash Holdings recorded revenue of ZW$45.4 billion for the period, compared to ZW$42.5 billion in 2021. Most of our revenue was driven by the Fintech business followed by Insurtech and lastly Digital Platforms. The Fintech business, anchored by EcoCash and Steward Bank, remains the largest contributor with performance being driven by new product innovations, and growth in the banks’ forex revenue, a result of the deliberate growth in the USD loan book and foreign currency accounts. The Group achieved a profit before tax of ZW$911.1 million, an improvement from the prior period’s loss before tax position of ZW$ 106.2 million. This positive development reflects the benefits of our ongoing digital transformation journey which has seen an improvement in operational efficiencies, as well as the support of all our stakeholders. We will continue to build on this business strategy to ensure we deliver value for our shareholders.
Dividend
The Directors resolved not to declare an interim dividend.
Social Responsibility
In everything we do at EcoCash Holdings, we are mindful of the responsibility we have to the communities in which we operate. Through the work of the Higherlife Foundation, we continue to promote sustainable development for marginalized communities, anchored on three main pillars, Education, Global Health as well as Rural Transformation and Sustainable Livelihoods. The foundation equipped 421 000 people in hotspot districts with disaster risk management knowledge and supported 16 hospitals on maternal health, with 4 of the hospitals recording a 40% reduction in maternal deaths. We remain dedicated to investing in our community in line with the values we hold.
Outlook
EcoCash Holdings continues to see exciting opportunities in the market for social and financial inclusion through technology. We are making a lasting difference by empowering people through reliable and resilient digital solutions that enhance people’s ability to be economically active. We look forward to contributing towards sustained innovations in the Fintech, Insurtech, Healthtech, Agritech and On Demand Services space, which we believe we can accelerate, spurred by the gains recorded in the current period. Despite the environmental headwinds and volatile operating environment, EcoCash Holdings is committed to build upon the successes of the past and to continue delivering value for all our stakeholders. We see opportunities in the market, and we are excited about the new and transformational innovations in our pipeline.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to our valued customers for the trust and support they have extended to us in good and challenging times; our gratitude cannot be expressed enough. To all our partners, regulators, shareholders, I thank you for your support and confidence, which we continue to rely on as we advance on this transformation journey. Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to our staff, management and my fellow directors for the focus, hard work and resilience in driving our vision.
On behalf of the Board
Sherree Shereni
Board Chairperson
10 November 2022
