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Malvern Nkomo

Capital Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZ) is working on an automated risk management system, in partnership with higher learning institutions, to reinforce its ability to identify areas of high risks in the capital markets and for individual institutional risk assessment.

This was said by SECZ compliance and risk manager, Dr Tariro Musikavanhu during the Investment Professionals Association of Zimbabwe (IPAZ) annual conference in Nyanga.

She also said the commission was in the process of developing an automated license application process, which is currently going through internal testing and is expected to be rolled out this year.

“As we are adapting to a digital future as SECZ, we are making efforts to adopt Supervision Technology (Supertech). We want to automate various processes that will facilitate oversights of regulatory compliance.

Chief among them is the development of a risk-based prudential and AML (anti-money laundering) system through collaboration with higher institutions of higher learning.

She said the electronic regulatory system will allow the sharing of regulatory data between the commission and its regulated entities, enabling the commission to assess the risk of individual institutions while allowing the regulator to develop national skills and also save on foreign currency.

“This electronic regulatory system will allow sharing of regulatory data between the commission and its regulated entities enabling the commission to timely assess the risk of individual institutions. This will allow us to develop national skills and also save on foreign currency,” she said.

“We are also developing a licensing portal which is at 90 percent complete. We are also currently testing this process internally and we expect to roll it out before the end of the year.

“This will allow licensees to simply log in to the system and submit all the requirements instead of manually submitting to the commission as part of our preparations for the digital future,” said Dr Musikavanhu

Dubbed Rising in the Chaos and Beyond, the 2023 IPAZ Annual Conference, which is now in its fourth year, is a platform designed for financial analysts and investment professionals to engage in various discussions on issues that affect capital markets and come up with innovative ideas in the financial world.

“Our goal as the capital markets regulator is to harness the potential that exists in the capital markets to generate value for our economy as we journey towards achieving vision 2030

“It is of utmost importance that the capital markets take part in the financing of the growth that is required for us to attain an upper middle-income economy,” said Dr Musikavanhu.

She also pointed out that besides focusing on regulation, the commission is mandated to ensure market development and stability while working on creating a platform where the industry can exchange ideas with policymakers.

“Our financial landscape is evolving at an unpreceded pace driven by advancements in technology, shifts in global markets and changes in investor expectation. Innovation has always been at the heart of progress and in the room of finance it is no different and as investment professionals we find ourselves at the forefront of this transformation.

“In today’s interconnecting and dynamic world the need to adapt and embrace innovation is paramount and as SecZim we are no exception in this world. We have also witnessed a proliferation of new products mostly in the form of collective investment schemes. This requires the commission to be a step ahead to enable effective regulation,” she said.

Earlier in March this year the SECZ established an innovation hub to act as an incubation for new fintech products to boost efficiency in service delivery whilst encouraging and engaging innovators through the existing capital market regulatory landscape.