BUSINESS REPORTER
Cassava Smartech narrowed its loss before tax to ZW$27.6m in the half year ended August 31, 2021 from ZWL$1.8bn in the same period last year on the back of a growth in revenue and cost reduction initiatives.
The loss also narrowed due to reduced exchange losses, board chairman Sherree Shereni said in a statement accompanying the financial results for the period.
“Management remains focused on leveraging technology to improve operational efficiencies,” she said.
The group’s revenue jumped 36% to ZWL$11bn compared to the same period last year, driven largely by an increase in transactional volumes for the Fintech business units.
“The Fintech business remains the largest contributor to revenue, constituting 80% of total revenue. Management continues to focus on revenue diversification as a strategy for revenue growth,” Shereni said.
She said EcoCash continued a steady growth trajectory with transaction values and wallet funding on the upward trend compared to the same period last year at 25% and 54%, respectively.
Shereni said the Steward Bank lending strategy yielded positive results as the 127% growth in the loan book from February 2021 spurred the bank’s 293% growth in interest income, compared to the same period last year.
The completion of the Core Banking System upgrade, in line with the acceleration of our digitisation focus, has resulted in improved customer experience and has created capacity for the development of innovative products in the future, she said.
In the outlook, Shereni said the group is anchored on a sound capital and liquidity position, allowing it to continue to support its customers. It will continue with its digital transformation journey and is optimistic about the future ahead, she said.
“As a diversified digital solutions group, we are investing in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud-based services to proactively develop products that will meet our customer needs and improve the customer experience,” Shereni said.
