Tafadzwa Nyikadzino

Businessman Tawanda Nyambirai has promised to bring a lot of exciting changes at Steward Bank following his recent acquisition of a controlling stake at the bank he originally founded in 2001 as TN Bank.

Nyambirai’s return to the helm of Steward Bank comes after he had sold the bank to Econet Wireless in 2013. In an exclusive interview with State of the Nation News, Nyambirai revealed that his return will bring new and exciting changes to the bank.

He told our reporter (Tafadzwa Nyikadzino) that he will transform Steward Bank to a Cyber Tech banking group where the use of advanced technology will be at the centre of all transactions.

Below is the full interview with him.

Reporter: What motivated you to take over the reigns of Steward Bank after leaving it for quite a while now?

Tawanda Nyambirai (T.N): As Tawanda Nyambirai Asset Management (TNAM), we were the underwriters of the EcoCash Holdings Zimbabwe Limited Rights Offer last year. There was underwriting stick, meaning there were shares in EcoCash Holdings Zimbabwe Limited that we had to subscribe for and pay for because they were not taken up by the shareholders. The result is that we became a 25% shareholder of the Bank Holding Company following the transfer of the Fintech assets, including EcoCash, to Econet.

This happened at a time when Econet’s strategic focus was more into Financial Technology thank Banking. Therefore, there was an opportunity to increase my steak beyond 25%. I was always sentimentally attached to the bank as its founder. I had the capacity to increase my shareholding. So I took the opportunity. Therefore the rationale was a combination of sentiment, opportunity and a good investment case.

Reporter: Please tell us the state at which the bank is now. Any changes from the time you left, up until now?

T.N: When I sold the Bank, Econet was already a holder of more than 20%. It was a good bank. I sold it because I needed to raise capital and I didn’t have deep enough pockets to take it to the next level of growth. Now the Bank is even better and stronger. Yes, it has a few issues. But those can be easily addressed.

Reporter: Which new developments should clients expect from the bank now that you are at its helm again?

T.N: I intend to develop the banking group into a CyberTech banking group where the traditional branch will be replaced by a banking kiosk from which customers will transact using computers, smart phones and iPads and ATMs. Picture the set up in modern phone shops that you find abroad. Then you will get the picture I am trying to paint.

The online banking platform will be developed to enable customers to download their KYC documents. This will enable automatic account opening upon downloading the Banking Application. We will immediately focus on customer service, emphasizing on our core values Innovare, Dignitas, Industria, Fides, Originalis and Humilitas (IDIFOH). There are many more developments that will follow. It is premature for me to talk about them now.

Reporter: How do you intend to run the bank going forward? What is the plan to make Steward Bank successful in the current economic environment?

T.N: The biggest risk in the Zimbabwean Financial Services Sector is regulatory. We are faced with an ever shifting regulatory environment that militates against long term goals and strategies. Our experience is that currencies have been changed without warning, without wide consultations, without a full evaluation of the consequences of such changes. Policies have been used to intimidate, threaten and destroy, rather than to nurture, support and bring about confidence and life.

All this happens in a global environment where we must compete against the best of the best in the world. How can we compete against Chinese, American and European products that are supported by cheap capital and a supportive macroeconomic environment? To worsen matters, we remain burdened by sanctions. We are limited on the correspondent banking relationships we can establish and the lines of credit we can access. We can’t be globally competitive! The opportunities are in technology. If we innovate enough and quickly enough, we may still become a great Bank.

Reporter: You have previously run several enterprises that are now defunct. Is Steward Bank not going to go in the same direction of closure, like other enterprises?

T.N: I will list the businesses that I have owned and indicate which ones I have closed down and why. I am a corporate Financier and Asset Manager. That is my core business. My businesses have and continue to revolve around TN Financial Services and TN Asset Management. I established these businesses in 2001. They have dominated and continue to dominate the Corporate Finance and Asset Management space in Zimbabwe. TNFS has handled the largest transactions in the history of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. TNAM is the second largest Asset Manager by Funds under Management in Zimbabwe.

I saved Trust Finance from collapse and converted into TN Bank Limited which is now Steward Bank Limited. So TN Bank was established from the excess profits I generated from my Asset Management and Corporate Finance businesses. I acquired Tedco as a way to establish a branch network for TN Bank Limited. Tedco is now TN Harlequin Luxaire Limited. It remains the biggest furniture manufacturer in Zimbabwe. The difference from the past is that after loosing approximately USD70 million from mostly Civil Servants who defaulted when Government banned direct deductions from the SSB, we stopped credit sales. We closed down more than 40 shops and we now only manufacture furniture on order. TN Harlequin Luxaire Limited is alive and well. Maybe one day, we will open credit sales again.

I bought Pelhams when it had already collapsed. I bought the shares from a Creditor who was recovering his debts from the major shareholders. The intention was to close it down immediately after an asset sale. But then there were people issues involved. This dragged the process. As a Corporate Financier, I can buy a business to shut it down and to make a profit on its closure. TN Baker, TN Beverages and TN Grill operate as one business. In 2024, the TN Baker was chosen as the most promising SME Bakery by the National Bakers Association of Zimbabwe. I am in the process of transferring the business to my children as it is not part of my core businesses.

TN Livestock Trust is one of the most amazing businesses I have ever built. It is a cattle Bank. It is doing very well. My mining business, TN Gold is a great business by any standard. So, the impression that I have managed many businesses that have collapsed is false. Yes, when we lost money to Civil Servants, we had a very tough time. But we survived and became even stronger.