Access to Responsible Lending
Izwe Africa Group is committed to promoting sustainable business practices while complying with international best practice in terms of ESG principles.. By incorporating customer protection principles in line with the SMART principles, into every level of our operations, we are building a positive, more customer-focused business with a stronger portfolio and enhanced returns.
We are fully transparent in our pricing, as well as in our terms. Responsible financial inclusion means that we use respectful collection practices and adopt high ethical standards in our treatment of customers.
We ensure that customer data remains private and have committed to the Customer Protection Principles because we strongly believe that responsible financial inclusion protects customers, businesses and the industry.
By weaving these principles into every level of our business, we ensure that we have a solid foundation on which to build strong, lasting relationships, increase customer retention and reduce financial risk. Our investment criteria and due diligence processes are contributing to a healthier, more customer-focused industry that will encourage stronger investment portfolios and strengthen financial returns.
Our compliance framework
Izwe has embedded a culture of compliance to enable sustainable value for all stakeholders, as, in the end, compliance is about ensuring a trust relationship with our clients and stakeholders.
Our activities are guided by the governance framework of ethics, codes of conduct, policies and commitment to legal and regulatory compliance. We have adopted a group wide Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance Policy that conforms to international best standards. Izwe has also achieved a both a Social Rating and SMART certification, both of which indicate our commitment to putting the correct measures in place to safeguarding our clients.
Izwe’s Code of Conduct affirms our commitment to maintaining high ethical standards, as well as the responsibility of each employee to protect the reputation of the company. The Code sets high expectations of what we stand for, what we believe in and how we put our values in action across the organisation.
What sets us apart from other institutions is our ability to develop and maintain mutually beneficial long-term business relationships with our customers and our partners.
Operations in our individual jurisdictions are fully compliant with all central bank and regulatory requirements, as well as all relevant rules and regulations as publicly listed companies in each country where we operate.
Environmental,
Social and Governance (ESG) Policy
We’re not “box tickers” when it comes to our approach to ESG implementation, nor do we believe in a one-size-fits-all model.
We maintain that ESG factors are critical in assessing the long-term sustainability, viability and value of an organisation and its business activities. The integration of ESG factors into our lending activities forms part of our strategy which will ultimately lead to increased value, lower risk for customer portfolios and achieving our aspirations of promoting a sustainable business with a positive social and environmental impact.
Izwe follows a sustainable triple bottom line approach where we do not inherently value social and environmental values at the expense of profitability, instead, financial benefits are achieved by committing to sustainable business practices through our three pillars of ESG.
We cannot meet our ESG aspirations without financial performance, we also recognize the importance of ESG on the profitability and long-term viability of the organisation, hence the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit is the perfect tool for Izwe to ensure a sustainable business model focussing as much on social and environmental concerns as we do on profits and the sustainability of the organisation.
Our ESG aspirations and triple bottom line is supported by the following three ESG pillars:
Pillar 1: Environment
Not all of the products offered by Izwe has a direct impact on the environment, but we have the ability to support environmental objectives via specific solutions offered to clients, including products that enable use of clean energy, products to the agricultural sectorto promote sustainable food production, and products focussed on building/home improvement loans that will give more people access to clean water.
Pillar 2: Social
Guided by our purpose of achieving social good, our social impact will be the result of continuous focus on innovation in both our product and processes. Our main measurable social objectives are; education, helping businesses grow, financial inclusion and adherence to SMART lending principles and client protection.
Pillar 3: Governance
We are committed to living our values and acting with integrity. Our values are deep rooted in ethics and accountability, which will guid our decision making in an ethical, thoughtful and responsible manner to support the organisation as a whole in delivering on our purpose.
Izwe’s ESG approach reflects our strong commitment to sustainable and responsible practices as a financial services group of companies operating across Sub-Sahara Africa. We are dedicated to adhering to international best practices in terms of ESG principles and regulations while actively implementing a sustainable triple bottom line approach.
As such, we are strongly committed to being transparent in our reporting of activities and progress towards implementing this ESG policy, regularly reporting back to relevant stakeholders on how we fulfil our responsibilities in terms of their mandates.
Education is the foundation of economic development and social advancement. Investment in education improves human capital, increases productivity and one’s standard of living.
It is proven that countries with a high population percentage of uneducated or low-quality education find it difficult to considerably increase their GDP and improve their standard of living.
It is with this that Izwe has chosen to support initiatives that will ultimately have an impact of advancing education, enhancing learning facilities and supporting teachers and educators in order to make a lasting contribution to the development of the communities in which it operates. Izwe has partnered with the Regional Education Fund For Africa (“REFFA”) to support the educational sector of Ghana and Zambia and provide products specifically tailored to further the educational sector and access to education. Furthermore Izwe has been involved in bursary schemes, sponsorships, donations and cultural events that have a focus on learning and education.
Following much research and collaboration with the Ministries of Education, National Scholarship Secretariats and Social Welfare the “Izwe Public Sector Tertiary Education Scholarship Fund” launched in 2012 and continue to run today in both Ghana and Zambia.
Children of public sector employees with a true financial need can apply, and funds are awarded to selected high school graduates with excellent grades. The bursary pays for the full cost of tertiary studies at a university of choice. Izwe’s intention is to develop knowledge and capabilities of young people and to empower them to drive the development and growth of their countries.
All applications are independently screened and review by Antal International Network, with final recommendations present to The Scholarship Selection Board.
To date 54 students have received support with 37 having graduated.