THE Indigenous Advisory Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe’s Professionals Savings and Credit Cooperative (IAPAZ Pro SACCO) has established a dedicated Women’s Desk in a move meant to address systemic barriers faced by women in finance and leadership.
This permanent structure has a mandate to champion female members’ economic empowerment and inclusion.
The initiative, detailed in a newly ratified Terms of Reference (ToR) document, seen by this publication, aims to create a premier platform within the SACCO to ensure the “full, effective, and equal participation of women in socio-economic development.”
The ToR outlines an ambitious mandate for the desk that extends beyond loans. Its core objectives include spearheading membership growth and retention among women, conducting financial literacy workshops, establishing a formal mentorship program, and advocating for gender-sensitive policies within the SACCO’s operations.
Speaking on the development, Junior Vice President of the IAPAZ and Vice Chairman of the SACCO, Success Nkobi Moyo said the desk is a necessary intervention rather than a symbolic gesture.
“This is not just another committee; it is a strategic imperative. Our research and engagement with members consistently show that women professionals and entrepreneurs juggle dual responsibilities of business and household management, which require uniquely tailored financial and social solutions. The Women’s Desk is our vehicle to deliberately design and deliver those solutions,” she said.
Moyo added that the desk's operational autonomy and its expected tangible outcomes.
“The desk will have its own elected leadership—a Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Organiser and crucially, a Legal Advisor. It will drive innovation, proposing tailored financial products like ‘Women-in-Business Loans,’ asset finance schemes, and crowd-pooling initiatives for collective investment in real assets.”
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The National Executive of the Desk will report directly to the main SACCO Management Committee, the supreme decision-making organ between Annual General Meetings (AGMs).
The establishment of the Desk comes at a time when national conversations around gender parity in economic participation are gaining momentum. By embedding this focus within a cooperative society model, which is inherently based on principles of equality and solidarity, IAPAZ Pro SACCO aims to create a replicable model for others.
A call for applications for the five inaugural National Executive positions has been issued, with a deadline of September 5, 2025. The initial executive will be appointed by the Management Committee and ratified at the next AGM, with subsequent leaders to be elected by the membership.
The success of the women’s desk will be closely watched by stakeholders as a benchmark for how financial institutions can structurally address gender disparities and unlock the economic potential of women professionals and entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe.
IAPAZ Pro SACCO is a brainchild of the IAPAZ association which draws members from a wide array of professionals, traders, and entrepreneurs, positions the desk as a core part of its governance structure.
