Investing in the Economy
Key economic development initiatives undertaken during the year include:
- Providing customised financial support to growth and export oriented sectors;
- Supporting women led businesses through training and funding;
- Securing credit lines for local business expansion;
- Facilitating trade through pre shipment finance;
- Offering consumer loans to civil servants and the private sector; and
- Advancing financial inclusion through digital channels and network expansion.
Corporate Social Responsibility
As CABS, our commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) embedding sustainability, inclusion, and community development across our operations is unwavering. In 2025, we implemented focused initiatives spanning environmental stewardship, healthcare, education, gender empowerment, sports development and financial literacy. Through these various initiatives, CABS continues to create meaningful social impact, support sustainable development, and strengthen communities across Zimbabwe. As a result of these efforts, CABS was recognised for its significant contributions to corporate social responsibility by winning the Best Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Sustainability Impact Investment Award for 2025.
Healthcare and Cancer Awareness
In line with ensuring healthier well-being of the communities we serve, we partnered with TM Pick n Pay in rolling out breast and cervical cancer screening to 1 712 women. Furthermore, we donated chemotherapy drugs to KidzCan to directly support children battling cancer by providing lifesaving treatment. A total of 4,051 prescription drugs were purchased for 274 young patients.
Education, Sports and Arts Development
The Bank continued to support education and sports development by investing in the donation of school furniture to Mariga School in Kanyemba near Zambezi for 40 students and two teachers to enhance the learning environment. We also supported the National Institute of Allied Arts (NIAA) Speech and Drama Festival in promotion of the arts where more than 11,000 students participated. We also sponsored Enactus that promotes entrepreneurship among university students, whereby 269 students took part in competitions and improved their entrepreneurship, pitching, ESG and innovation skills. CABS supported inclusive sports development through initiatives such as the CABS T20 Smashing Cricket with 200 students taking part, the Watershed T20 that saw 216 students competing, as well as the Old Mutual Colts Cricket Cup and CABS U13 Cricket Cup (Southern Region) with 600 students participating. The Zimbabwe Chess Federation CABS Candidates Tournament had 177 players from across Zimbabwe, including adults and school-going children. We also sponsored the ZimCricket Domestic Cricket League that comprises five teams and their junior teams, the Wise Owl CABS Golden Girls Cricket Tournament where 104 girls took part, and the Antelope Park Wild Run that saw 313 athletes participating, including 20 cyclists.
Financial Literacy
CABS is committed to promoting financial literacy, and we are proud to have conducted a series of impactful programs that reached out to churches, schools, and tertiary colleges nationwide, with over 45,000 people impacted - the churches having the highest figures. These initiatives aim to empower individuals with essential financial knowledge and skills, fostering a culture of informed financial decision-making. In partnership with Old Mutual’s “On the Money” program, we have been able to enhance our outreach efforts, providing valuable resources and training to communities.
Environmental Sustainability
CABS supported environmental conservation through treeplanting initiatives, in partnership with SPAR and MyTrees Trust, with 500 trees planted at Marlborough High School and a further 1,200 trees donated to the Harare City Junior Council, contributing to reforestation and climate resilience. We planted 11 trees at the CABS Head Office and, in addition, 985 trees were distributed to staff members and customers for onward planting in their communities. The Society also advanced biodiversity protection and conservation awareness through support for the Kariba International Tiger Fish Tournament (KITFT) tourism and conservation of animals initiative.
Corporate Governance
The Board remains fully committed to upholding the highest standards of governance, risk oversight, and ethical leadership. Robust Board and Committee engagements throughout the year provided strong oversight over financial performance, regulatory compliance, strategy execution, and risk management. In accordance with the Society’s governance framework, a number of scheduled Board and Committee meetings were convened during the year. These meetings facilitated robust oversight of risk management, financial performance, regulatory compliance and strategic execution. The Board remained focused on minimising risk exposures while leveraging the Society’s core strengths to enhance operational resilience and deliver sustainable shareholder value.
