Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ)
Agora Microfinance Zambia is the country’s leading non-deposit microfinance institution, licensed by the Bank of Zambia, that operates in all provinces of Zambia. It provides a range of small loans, insurance, leasing, and mobile money products directly and in partnership with other financial providers. Most of its clients, over 90%, are rural and typically involved in smallholder farming. AMZ operates through a network of dozens of branches, hundreds of staff and reaches hundreds of thousands of clients.
Profile
AMZ was established in late 2011 by the Agora Microfinance Group, as its first greenfield operation in Africa. The creation of AMZ was based on an assessment of multiple economies, wherein we concluded that Zambia had the greatest opportunity to serve the unmet demand for financial services across the country, but especially in rural areas. AMZ began in one province and has since expanded to all 10 provinces of the country, reaching some very remote parts of Zambia through its unique delivery model. Since its creation in 2011, AMZ has grown from strength to strength and has reached various milestones along the way, including:
- 2012-2015: Fine-tuning its village delivery model and achieving highly efficient product delivery methodologies
- 2016: Financial break-even (and profitable since)
- 2017: Implementation of a digitization strategy, creating a real-time system from end-to-end
- 2018: Introduction of multiple new products, including insurance, mobile money, and small business loans
- 2019: Geographical expansion strategy, leading to coverage in all provinces
- 2020-21: Continued geographical expansion and technology upgrades
- 2022: Launch of leasing product, the establishment of a Social Performance Framework
Current Activities
AMZ continues to consolidate its position as the premier rural finance institution in Zambia through continuous technology upgrades, the establishment of a high-calibre research and impact assessment framework, further product development and innovation, and further deepening of its geographic reach.