Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ) releases its Annual Report 2021

Our partner company AMZ, firmly established as Zambia’s premier rural microfinance institution, has released its Annual Report for the financial year ended 31 December 2021.

In addition to being the largest (by customer numbers) retail operator in Zambia, it possesses a long track-record of financial viability as well as strong asset quality.  Almost 90% of its clients are rural, mostly small farmers, and its depth of reach is indicated by its average loan size of just US$90.

During 2021, AMZ opened new branches, added new products (notably farm equipment leasing), converted all its offices to solar, and undertook several technology upgrades, including the operationalisation of a real-time geo-tracking tool for its field operations.  At the same time, AMZ grew substantially during the year and finished the year with over 125,000 active clients – up 55% from the previous year.  Its loan book has also grown proportionally and now exceeds US$10 million.   Its progress on non-credit products also continued, with its health insurance product with over 20,000 active policies, and over 36,000 mobile money transactions carried out during the year.  In summary, we could not have expected better results for 2021, and the strong progress positions us in an ever-stronger position for future consolidation.