By Desire Tshuma
HARARE — Stanbic Bank is pushing banking closer to Zimbabwe’s tobacco farmers with 13 additional seasonal branches this year, bringing the total to 27 remote “implants” operating at major sales floors and merchant sites nationwide.
The expansion, announced today, targets key growing areas including Marondera, Macheke, Rusape, Banket, Chinhoyi, Bindura, Mhangura, Mutoko, Chivhu, Mt Darwin, Mvurwi, Karoi and Guruve. The temporary branches are set up at Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco, Mashonaland Tobacco Company, Boost Africa, Curverid Tobacco and Northern Tobacco.
Stanbic first rolled out the implants in 2021 to ease congestion at auction floors and cut long travel times for farmers banking their proceeds.
“These remote branches give tobacco farmers and merchants easy access to cash, decongest the main floors, and reduce travel time for those in remote areas,” said Nelson Muhau, Stanbic Bank Head of Personal and Business Banking. He noted that before the implants, farmers from Chivhu, Mt Darwin, Mutoko and Rusape often had to travel to Harare to do their banking.
The move also aligns with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy. Muhau said Stanbic is determined to deliver transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance at farmers’ doorsteps, with special focus on smallholder growers who account for 85% of the country’s 135,000+ tobacco producers.
Stanbic remains the largest financier in Zimbabwe’s tobacco value chain, providing over USD 405m in offshore facilities and USD 20m onshore to merchants and linked producers. Tobacco contributes more than 10% of GDP. In 2025 the sector hit a record 353 million kg, up 52.9% from 2024, and generated over US$1.17 billion in revenue. Last season, 333,191,640 kg was sold through contract farming and 19,825,026 kg through auction floors, with China the largest importer.
The 2026 selling season began in March.