Good governance & social impact

Responsible lending and making a positive impact.

Good governance & social impact

Responsible lending and making a positive impact

Access to responsible lending

Izwe Africa Group is committed to good business practice. By incorporating customer protection 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.

Our activities are guided by the governance framework of ethics, codes of conduct, policies and commitment to legal compliance. We have adopted a group wide Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance Policy that conforms to international 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 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 and value of an organisation and its business activities. The integration of ESG factors into our lending activities is a smart move that will ultimately lead to increased value and lower risk for customer portfolios.

As long-term investors, it’s important that we pay full consideration to the impact of environmental and social issues, and to ensure that our business maintains high standards of corporate governance in this respect.

We believe companies cannot achieve sustainable economic success if their social and environmental responsibilities are neglected. Social responsibility has the potential to increase the quality of an enterprise’s earnings stream and consequently its long-term investment potential.

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 customers on how we fulfil our responsibilities in terms of their mandates.

Social rating

We’re proud of the fact that Izwe Zambia has successfully obtained an internationally recognised Social Rating in 2019 and a SMART certification in 2016. These ratings give us the chance to reshape the way we conduct business, in a positive manner.

We use the Social Rating procedure to inspire a new level of development to position ourselves as a company that cares about the local community, the environment and making an impact.