No glass ceiling for women – Chipunza

NDAMU SANDU

Margret Chipunza, the NMBZ chief finance officer, believes the glass ceiling has been shattered and it is up for women to grab the opportunities available.

“I believe it has [glass ceiling has been shattered] and there are great opportunities for women who have the right attitude, qualifications, experience and networks,” she said.

Business Times, the country’s leading business and financial publication, will be profiling female executives to celebrate Women’s Month.

Chipunza, who has been occupying the CFO’s post for the past six months, said setbacks should not hold women back.

Rather, they should use the setbacks as a springboard to attain their goals.

“The sky is the limit. Believe in yourself and work hard. If your attitude is right and you are grounded in the right principles in life you will go far. Don’t let minor setbacks define your future, instead use them to fuel your success,” said the executive who was “raised by a very determined mother who did her very best for me and my four siblings”.

Her philosophy is “it’s never too late to be what you might have been”.

“I believe the past does not define anyone and we can always be whom we have dreamt to be,” Chipunza said.

The chartered accountant by training described her stint as CFO at NMBZ as both “exciting and challenging”.

“There is a great deal to learn and I am equal to the task. As a senior professional in the sector, a lot is expected of me both as a leader and role model. I have been blessed to be very empowered and supported as a female executive which is great,” the executive said.

Chipunza joined the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed financial services concern from African Century Limited (ACL) where she held a similar post.

The two institutions are different in terms scale as NMBZ is a much “bigger institution in terms of customer base, number of transactions and number of staff”.

However, they are both regulated entities which are in the public interest due to their “deposit taking nature” so that part of it remains the same, she said.

Chipunza has also worked for microfinancier Untu, ZABG and Deloitte & Touche—the right foundation that has prepared her for the top post.

“Deloitte equipped me with a very good grounding in the accounting field which is a key part of my work. ZABG helped in consolidating my understanding of financial services as an industry since the group had a commercial bank, asset management division and stock broking company,” she told Business Times.

Untu opened her eyes to the “exciting area” of microfinance while ACL’s asset financing model provided another different perspective.

“After these experiences I was no longer just an accountant but a business person,” the executive said.

Asked whether cultures are different between NMBZ and her former employers, Chipunza said the banking industry has a very “conservative culture and that has remained the same”.

“However, there is a strong culture of innovation within NMBZ which is both challenging and exciting. I am looking forward to seeing what NMBZ can be in the next three years,” she said.

Banks have taken the flak for getting more income from non-funded instead of interest income. This has riled depositors who feel they are being ripped off through high bank charges at a time financial institutions have been conservative in lending.

Chipunza said non-interest income is largely driven by the high transactional volumes due to digitisation of financial services.

“Furthermore, the velocity of our local currency is very high. Consequently, a huge number of transactions occur on a daily basis through the various delivery channels thus increasing non-funded income for banks,” she said.

Chipunza said NMBZ have been “very active” in supporting businesses through lending facilities, in particular to the productive sectors of the economy.

“We have also gone on to raise dedicated funding via external lines of credit to support export-oriented companies riding on the support we receive from some of our foreign shareholders,” she said.

Digitisation in the banking sector is coming at a faster pace than predicted with experts saying technology would be the undertaker for the brick-and-mortar model of banking.

The executive sees banks providing most services digitally. However, this does not take away the need for face to face interaction, she said.

“I think in future we may not see the expansive traditional bank branches but more of service centres. However, there will be generations, like the digital natives who will be served completely on digital platforms,” Chipunza said.

Like all sectors of the economy, the banking industry has not been spared from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic and resultant lockdown restrictions negatively affected many businesses reducing sales and related cashflows and this filters through to the banks in the form of credit defaults, she said.

The executive said Covid  accelerated the digitisation of financial services and banks still needed to provide service notwithstanding the lockdowns.

The pandemic also served to emphasise the need for digitisation and the need for customers to access banking services virtually without compromising the customer experience.

“Financial institutions need to continue investing in robust ICT infrastructure as well as reliable digital channels. The other area is around cyber-security and the need to protect customers and the banks from cyberattacks. This has become a huge risk,” said Chipunza, an ambitious business leader who strives to “remain grounded in my faith in God”.

A determined, bold and caring person, the executive serves on the Council of Lupane State University.

Chipunza gets inspiration from her “ personal times with God” and when she listens to great podcasts such as CFO Thought Leader and LinkedIn for Business.

She is the treasurer for a private voluntary organisation, Hope Worldwide Zimbabwe, that focuses on ECD Parenting and HIV related work.

The executive is reading Measure What Matters by John Doerr and The Deborah Anointing by Michelle McClain-Walters.

She developed an interest in accounting when Deloitte & Touche came to present at her school in 1996.

“My first job after articles happened to be in a bank and I just loved how banking connects everything in the economy. I am enjoying it and I think I will stay put,” Chipunza said.

The role of CFOs or FDs in organisations has been seen as one that places more efforts on controls creating friction with other departments such as marketing which believes in spending to get more.

Chipunza said the CFO job is more about creating and protecting value for the business and have a “very good view” of the entire business and are able to make recommendations on allocation of resources that maximises value for all stakeholders.

“While is critical for CFOs to maintain a strong control environment for value protection, they are also key contributors to strategy and business growth.,” she said.

The executive is married to a “very supportive husband” and the couple has three children.

Chipunza’s family is slowly converting her to supporting Manchester United although she remains a passionate gardener.