NMB Bank Plc has disbursed a total of 30.7bn/- or 41 percent fromJasiri bond proceeds to women Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and businesses whose products and services directly impact women,during its first quarter.

File photo showing deputy permanent secretary, ministry of finance and planning Lawrence Mafuru ringing the bell during the listing of Jasiri Bond at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) in April this year. Centre is the NMB Bank managing director Ruth Zaipuna and left is DSE CEO MoremiMarwa.

The segment disbursement ratio was at 78.22 percent, whereby 23.9bn/- disbursed to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) and 6.8bn/- disbursed to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), according to the bond’s quarterly disbursement report.

Jasiri Bond is NMB’s first gender bond whose net proceeds is used to (re) finance eligible projects/activities that are expected to support socio-economic empowerment of women and promote gender inclusion.

“In accordance with the bond framework, pending allocation proceeds have been temporarily invested in short term money market,” the report says.

The bond represents a promising financing vehicle for institutions committed to addressing and reducing gender inequality by improving women’s access to financing, leadership positions, and equality in labour markets.

Jasiri Bond collected a total of 74.268bn/- and unutilized portion of the bond is amounting 43.58bn/-. Tranche was over-subscribed by 297 percent from an offered 25bn/- with 15bn/- green shoe option.

The disbursement report says the bank intends to allocate all proceeds within 18 months of issuance, as stated in bond’s framework.

More than 1,600 investors in the NMB Jasiri Bond which was opened February 7, 2022 and closed on March 21, 2022 earn an interest rate of 8.5 percent per annum payable quarterly, throughout the three years, until March 2025.

The NMB Jasiri Bond is part of the lender’s 200bn/- Medium Term Note (MTN) Program that had mobilized a total of 148.2bn/- in the past three tranches.

NMB Bank’s Jasiri Bond was listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) in April this year and is recognized as the first gender-based financial instrument to list on the bourse in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), making Tanzania the pioneer of such financial instruments in the entire region.

NMB’s Jasiri Bond was issued at a time when the Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) was about to finalise regulations for issuance of all financial products that falls under the ‘sustainable instruments’ category.

Sustainable Instruments are a new product in the market, as the CMSA approved the regulations for such instruments on March 1, 2022.

Mark Napier, CEO of FSD Africa, market facilitator, pointed out during the listing of Jasiri Bond that access to capital by women has long impeded equitable and inclusive economic prosperity.

“We are proud to support NMB Bank on the first gender bond in Sub-Saharan Africa, a ground-breaking issuance that builds on our work supporting the first gender bond issuance in Morocco. Our support affirms our long-term commitment to ensuring gender equality and economic empowerment for women,” he added.

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