https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/169 Sun, 05 Apr 2026 19:15:37 GMT 2026-04-05T19:15:37Z https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6857 Title: The role of financial inclusion on smallholder farming performance in Zimbabwe: A case of Gokwe South District Authors: Senga, Tsitsi Linia Abstract: Financial inclusion is a major determining factor in the financial development of societies. Financial inclusion alleviates poverty, reduces income inequality and employment. Access to financial services has prompted debate to both emerging markets and advanced economies with an aim to promote economic development through functional financial systems. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of financial inclusion on smallholder farming performance in Zimbabwe’s Gokwe South District. This was achieved by identifying major financial inclusion challenges encountered by smallholder farmers and investigating how they manage their income generated from crop farming. In addition, it sought to establish how financial inclusion affects smallholder farming performance and analysed financial literacy ways to improve strategic financial decisions. Furthermore, the study investigated how commercial farming impacts on financial security of smallholder farmers in Gokwe South District. Adopting a qualitative approach underpinned by the transformative paradigm, the study followed a single case study design. The target population was 62 000 smallholder farmers. A non-probability sampling strategy was used to purposively sample five wards notably Chisina, Nemangwe and Mapfungautsi geographical zones out of 33 wards. An interview guide, focus group discussion guide and participant observation guide were tools used to collect data from eight key informants and 47 participants in focus group discussions. Based on the findings, it was established that smallholder farmers possessed seasonal bank accounts and faced challenges that financially excluded them such as withdrawal limits, exorbitant bank charges, limited use of mobile and digital banking and lack of financial sector confidence. Instead of payments for crops being made in cash, they were paid for in kind or electronically, but the electronic payments were not done instantly. Furthermore, it was established that these smallholder farmers underpriced their products, lacked financial management knowledge and record keeping, and lacked financial education, among other challenges. The study recommends the establishment of financial inclusion hubs, commercial farming among smallholder farmers, financial literacy support programmes, financial management awareness campaign, elementary financial education, provision of low-cost bank accounts, agency banking, satellite banks and agribusiness unit development. In terms of further studies, focus could be on financial inclusion of other disadvantaged members of society such as the disabled and women, use of mixed methodology study on the same subject and climate change impact on smallholder farming and business growth. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6857 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Senga, Tsitsi Linia https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5460 Title: A participatory learning approach for the development of a maternal mobile health technology in Zimbabwe Authors: Israel Mbekezeli Dabengwa; Zibusiso Nyati-Jokomo; Chikoko Laurine; Makanga Prestige Tatenda; Newton Nyapwere; Liberty Makacha Abstract: Participatory Learning Approaches (PLAs) were used in identifying community expectations and needs for the introduction of the RoadMApp mHealth software (a geographically enabled mHealth technology which would link pregnant women to transportation to health facilities) in Kwekwe District, Zimbabwe. The sampling frame included different demographic groups which voluntarily took part in the study. 84 participants took part in the study. Chapati visual methods were conducted on Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) at 3 Rural Health Centres, whilst in-depth informant interviews (IDIs) and problem tree analysis were conducted at 10 clinics in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas. Thematic analysis and root-cause-analysis were used to interpret the data. Major themes identified were (a.) unavailability of savings for institutional childbirth, (b.) transport problems, and (c.) donor dependency. We recommend RoadMApp mHealth software to look beyond catering for transportation and savings for pregnancy related conditions, but inclusion of other health conditions. Tue, 05 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5460 2022-04-05T00:00:00Z Israel Mbekezeli Dabengwa Zibusiso Nyati-Jokomo Chikoko Laurine Makanga Prestige Tatenda Newton Nyapwere Liberty Makacha https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5459 Title: Supermarket resilience in Zimbabwe’s volatile macroeconomic environment Authors: Laurine Chikoko; Blessing Mukabeta Maumbe Abstract: The paper describes sources of resilience in Zimbabwe’s supermarket value chains and the strategies for building resilience. Although Zimbabwe has witnessed a steady growth in the number of supermarkets, that growth has been disrupted by the volatile operating environment. Data was collected from an online survey of supermarket managers, websites and secondary sources. The study found that franchising, extensive branch networks, mergers and acquisitions and multiple store formats have provided major supermarkets such as OK, TM/Pick n Pay and Spar with an adaptive capacity that has enabled them to operate for several decades in Zimbabwe’s volatile food retail sector. These findings have implications for improving government policy making and supermarket managers’ knowledge on developing resilient food systems under a turbulent macroeconomic environment. Further, the study provides key insights on strategies that are indispensable for building the necessary resilience ingredients required by supermarkets to absorb shocks and recover in a timely way. Sun, 13 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5459 2022-03-13T00:00:00Z Laurine Chikoko Blessing Mukabeta Maumbe https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5370 Title: A Critical Analysis of the Impact of Internal Auditing on Fraud Detection in the Cement Manufacturing Industry of Zimbabwe. Impact of Internal Auditing on Fraud Detection Authors: Newman Wadesango; Patience Mutambira; Lovemore Sistcha; Ongayi Wadesango Abstract: The title of this study was a critical analysis of the impact of internal auditing on fraud detection in the cement manufacturing industry of Zimbabwe. Epistemology was adopted as the philosophical basis of the study and the research paradigm was pragmatism. The quantitative research approach was selected and for data collection, researchers used questionnaires. The convergent parallel research design was used and the target population was made up of 5 000 staff and employees from the three major cement manufacturers in Zimbabwe. The Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table was applied to obtain a research sample of 357. The study made use of simple random sampling and purposive sampling and the data collection instruments used in this study included questionnaires and interviews. The ffindings on the types and extent of use of internal audit in the studied cement manufacturing firms revealed that the mostly used type of internal audits are management audits. The internal audits in the studied firms were found to be poor in most aspects such as the accomplishment of objectives; enhancing organizational effectiveness; preventing errors and other unforeseen problems; risk management and the identification of the basic objective of internal auditing, among others. The effectiveness of the audits is fairly affected by financial, political and legal factors. With regards to the influence of internal audits on the prevention and detection of fraud, findings of the study also suggested that the internal auditing in the studied cement manufacturing firms fails to deal with the major forms of fraud in the organisations, such as skimming payments from customers; check tampering; cash theft; the misuse of company credit cards as well as improper payroll transactions. An R2 of 0.307, with a T value of 0.942 and a significance of 0.446 at the P>0.05 level showed a low but significant relationship between the fraud variable and the internal auditing in the firms. There was also an R2 value of 0.015 and a T value of 0.347 with a significance of 0.738 at the P>0.05 level, showing that there was no significant relationship between the ROA and the performance level of the cement manufacturing firms. Findings on the strategies that could possibly be used to enhance the fraud detection and prevention capabilities of internal audits in the studied firms include undertaking more regular and routine financial auditing and ensuing legal procedures for fraudulent employees who fail to adhere to audit recommendations. The study therefore recommended for the adoption of other internal audit principles and strategies, formulating a consistent internal audit policy, regular financial auditing and to fund the implementation of internal audit recommendations. Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5370 2022-12-30T00:00:00Z Newman Wadesango Patience Mutambira Lovemore Sistcha Ongayi Wadesango