Zimbabwean banker Valeta Mthimkhulu has spent more than two decades building a banking career that has taken her from project management and corporate affairs in Harare to the top job at Zimbabwe’s largest commercial lender. Today, the veteran banker is writing another chapter in that journey after leading CBZ Bank to secure $190 million in financing from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), a package designed to strengthen trade finance, expand lending to small businesses, and support energy infrastructure in Zimbabwe.

The financing comes just over a year after Mthimkhulu was appointed managing director of CBZ Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of CBZ Holdings Limited, in August 2025. Since taking over the role, she has worked alongside CBZ Holdings Group Chief Executive Lawrence Nyazema as the group delivered a sharp improvement in earnings. Profit after tax climbed to ZWG1.44 billion from ZWG168.05 million a year earlier, reflecting stronger earnings capacity led by CBZ Bank through growth in funded and non-funded income, continued customer acquisition, and increased use of digital financial services.

For Mthimkhulu, the Afreximbank agreements represent more than another funding transaction. They strengthen the bank’s capacity to finance exporters, corporates and small businesses while supporting national priorities, including investments in energy infrastructure. “The agreements strengthen the bank’s ability to provide financing solutions for exporters, corporates and small businesses while supporting strategic national priorities, including energy development,” Mthimkhulu said. The facility is expected to improve access to working capital while supporting exporters, importers and manufacturers operating across key sectors of the economy. It also strengthens the bank’s role in supporting businesses that contribute to export growth and foreign exchange earnings while helping narrow Africa’s trade finance gap.

The transaction reflects the approach Mthimkhulu has brought to CBZ Bank since taking over its leadership—using strategic financing to strengthen businesses, support economic activity and broaden access to capital. Her focus on financing key sectors of the economy extends beyond trade. CBZ Bank recently reaffirmed its commitment to Zimbabwe’s economic development by contributing $25 million, one of the largest commitments among eight participating financial institutions, to the $125 million syndicated financing facility supporting Mutapa Gold Resources’ Shamva Hill open-pit gold mine expansion. The project is expected to increase annual gold production from 0.8 tonnes to 2.4 tonnes, representing a 264 percent increase. The expansion is expected to support Zimbabwe’s mining sector, create employment and contribute to broader economic development.

Decades of banking leadership experience

The latest financing initiatives add to a career that has been defined by steady progression through some of Africa’s largest banking institutions. Mthimkhulu’s banking career began in Harare in the late 1990s after earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Banking from the National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe. She joined Barclays Bank Zimbabwe, where she would spend 19 years progressing through a series of leadership roles.

She started in project and program management before becoming country portfolio manager, regional retail channel manager, and retail project manager. Her work across those positions laid the foundation for a move into executive leadership. In September 2005, she became Head of Corporate Affairs at Barclays Bank Zimbabwe, a position she held until September 2008. During that period, she established the Head of Corporate Affairs role as a strategic function within the bank, leading a three-member team responsible for implementing brand strategy across Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom. The effort contributed to a 15 percent increase in market share growth and a 30 percent increase in share of voice.

Her responsibilities extended across marketing, corporate affairs, research, brand management, advertising, public relations, merchandising, and stakeholder engagement, strengthening the bank’s brand recognition and client relationships. She also established Barclays Bank Zimbabwe’s first 24-hour inbound contact center with a team of 20 agents while serving on the country management committee, where she provided leadership on branding, communications, corporate social responsibility, public policy, and crisis management. The success of that role led to her appointment as Southern Region Head of Corporate Affairs in October 2008.

Over the next three years, she oversaw corporate affairs across Zimbabwe while providing strategic direction to teams in Botswana and Zambia. She led a regional network of 15 corporate affairs and marketing professionals, supporting Barclays’ brand across Southern Africa while strengthening cross-border collaboration and operational efficiency. Her responsibilities included building and leading an integrated virtual team that provided strategic advisory services across Southern Africa, helping improve stakeholder engagement and supporting the bank’s regional business objectives.

Track record underpins CBZ leadership

In 2011, Mthimkhulu moved into a banking leadership role, remaining with Barclays until May 2018 before joining Standard Chartered Bank as Country Head of Retail and Business Banking. At Standard Chartered, she completed the mandate for the Retail and Business Banking division while maintaining a balance sheet of $100 million. Under her leadership, the division recorded a 16 percent increase in net income and a 10 percent expansion in its banking portfolio.

Her next move took her to Botswana, where she joined Absa Bank Botswana as Retail Director in January 2020. During nearly six years in the role, she managed one of the bank’s largest business units while overseeing a balance sheet exceeding $1 billion and annual revenue of more than $80 million. The retail business accounted for 57 percent of the bank’s total revenue under her leadership. She directed strategic planning and business oversight while leading a workforce of more than 550 employees.

Her tenure also delivered measurable gains in market position. Absa Bank Botswana expanded its market share to 28 percent in 2019 and 29 percent in 2021 and 2022 through customer acquisition and segmentation strategies that increased net profit margin year over year from 14 percent to 18 percent. The bank retained its position as Botswana’s second-largest retail bank with a 31 percent market share in net interest income and 26 percent in non-funded income. It also became the market leader with a 27 percent share of assets and a 22 percent share of deposits through balance-sheet management and asset-liability optimization.

She also led local and regional market acquisition initiatives across Absa’s African operations, increasing customer deposits from 2 percent in fiscal 2021 to 14 percent in the first half of 2024 while lifting deposit market share from 20 percent to about 30 percent. Her business unit exceeded headline earnings by 161 percent in 2021 while outperforming annual and medium-term return on equity and return on assets targets. Those results helped pave the way for her appointment as managing director of CBZ Bank in August 2025, where she now leads Zimbabwe’s largest commercial lender at a time when access to capital remains critical for businesses and infrastructure development.

The $190 million financing package from Afreximbank marks one of the biggest milestones of her tenure so far. Together with CBZ Bank’s $25 million commitment to the $125 million Shamva Hill financing and its participation in the $210 million syndicated facility supporting Zimbabwe’s electricity transmission network, the transactions reflect a strategy centered on expanding access to finance for businesses, strengthening trade, supporting infrastructure and contributing to Zimbabwe’s economic development.