NMB BANK PLC OPENS ANOTHER BOND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT, NAMED THE NMB JASIRI BOND

• The NMB Jasiri Bond offer is open for purchase to all Retail and Institutional Investors; NMB and non-NMB customers

• The minimum investment starts from TZS 500,000

• The Bond is offered at 8.5% p.a. and can be bought from any NMB Bank Branch or Stockbrokers licensed by the CMSA

Dar es Salaam, February 7, 2022. NMB Bank Plc (NMB) is issuing a three-year bond named the NMB Jasiri Bond - sold at par, which targets anyone who wishes to invest and earn an attractive return. The minimum purchase amount is TZS 500,000 and can be purchased from any NMB Branch or from the Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) licensed Stockbrokers.

The NMB Jasiri Bond is expected to raise TZS 25 Billion with a green shoe option of TZS 15 Billion. The proceeds of this bond will be used to extend affordable financing for women-owned or women-controlled enterprises and/or businesses whose products or services directly impact a woman. 

This is the first ever Bond targeting gender empowerment to be offered in the East African region and demonstrates NMB’s commitment to socio-economic empowerment through promoting supporting the efforts to attain sustainably the United Nations’ Sustainable Goals (SDGs) that are SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

Investors in the NMB Jasiri Bond will earn an interest rate of 8.5% per annum payable quarterly   throughout the three years, until March 2025. The interest rate paid is subject to withholding tax deduction. 

This issuance follows the approval from the Capital Markets & Securities Authority (CMSA) to NMB to issue a fourth tranche of its TZS 200Bn Medium Term Note (MTN) Program that had mobilized a total of TZS 148.2B in the past three tranches.

Once the offer closes (March 21, 2022), the Jasiri bond will be listed and traded at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. This means a buyer of the bond will be able to sell the bond to another buyer in the secondary market through a licensed stockbroker and receive the principal before the maturity date. 

To bring the bond to market, NMB has worked with FSD Africa who offered technical assistance to develop the NMB Social Bond Framework that was reviewed and given a Second Party Opinion (SPO) by Sustainalytics. This means the NMB Jasiri Bond is compliant with the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) standards. In this issuance, NMB worked with Orbit Securities as a sponsoring broker.

NMB CEO, Ruth Zaipuna, said at a press conference that: “NMB is principally funded by a range of instruments including retail and institutional deposits as well as debt instruments like this Jasiri Bond. You will recall we have an MTN programme of TZS 200 Billion and to date we have managed to issue three (3) tranches totaling TZS 148.2 Billion. With Jasiri Bond, NMB is looking to raise TZS 25 Billion whose proceeds will directly go to finance women-owned or women-controlled enterprises. The Bond has a green shoe option of TZS 15 Billion. 

“Women make important contributions to sustainable growth and shared prosperity and play critical roles in all aspects of public and private life. Through the Jasiri Bond, we want to walk the talk in drawing attention to the challenges women entrepreneurs face in Tanzania while creating a new asset class for investors who want to help create sustainable solutions to women economic empowerment.”

According to recent data, women make up roughly half the world’s population. Most small- and medium-sized businesses are owned by women, but they often face hurdles in accessing credit from banks, meaning their businesses cannot grow.

We consider this to be a good opportunity to address this need, which will not only help stimulate the development of the local capital market and diversify our funding sources, but also support women economic empowerment and sustainable development. This is an opportunity that allows us to mobilise funds that the bank can use to extend further our Jasiri Women’s Market Proposition that was launched in 2020.”

“This type of a bond provides opportunities to small investors to invest in bonds in lower denomination, diversify their investments and trade in the bonds market thus providing needed inclusion and access using the bank’s easily accessible network.” added Ms Zaipuna

To bring the bond to market, NMB has worked with FSD Africa, who offered technical input on the NMB Social Bond Framework and technical assistance for the Second Party Opinion (SP0) that was provided by Sustainalytics.

“FSD Africa is excited to have worked with NMB on their maiden gender bond, which is also a first for Sub-Saharan Africa. The proceeds will support women empowerment investments and will also create a new asset class for investors, both retail and institutional, in Tanzania and the wider East Africa region”, said Evans Osano – Director Capital Markets at FSD Africa

The NMB Jasiri Bond offer is open from today the 7th February 2022 to 21st March 2022. Applications for the NMB Bond are available from any of our 226 NMB branches or licensed stockbrokers.

For more information, contact:

Vicent Mnyanyika, NMB Bank Plc Public Relations Manager 

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Notes to editors

A bond is a type of investment that allows an investor to invest in a corporate or government entity by lending money to it for a fixed period; at par, discount or premium. In return, the investor earns interest that will not change over the bond tenure.

When you buy the NMB Jasiri bond, you have lent the bank your money. NMB guarantees to return your money (principal) on maturity day and additionally pay you the agreed interest every quarter throughout the bond tenure. Interest received from your bond, as per the law, is subject to withholding tax deduction. Corporate bonds are different from shares as the bondholder does not get ownership of the corporate entity nor entitled to vote and/or make a decision in the bank.