Mobile and Online trading platform, C-Trade recently launched Investment Clubs, meant to crowd-source investments among participants to realize higher capital to buy quality shares on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and the second tier bourse, Financial Securities Exchange (FINSEC).
The Investment Clubs will enable participants to buy shares in bulk, not only sharing the risks but also synergizing these clubs to get higher returns.
This is done by depositing contributed funds into one account or the C-Trade platform and using the same account to buy shares through the use of an administrator.
Apportionment of funds to club members according to what they have contributed through the use of basic ratios or percentage calculations.
“The main aim of the Investment Club initiative is to bring traditional cooperative clubs to the stock market thereby enhancing financial inclusion,” said Eliah Sarai head of sales and marketing for Escrow Group, the holding company of the developers of C-Trade.
“We had a minimum deposit that allowed one to trade on C-Trade which was $ 10. But you would then find that at $ 10 you would only buy so many shares of such a low quality and you can’t buy those top ends, so what we have done is that people can come together and create a club were they can deposit their money into their C-Trade account and if they find shares they want on the market they then buy reasonable qualities and quantities of shares,” he added.
C-Trade, launched in July last year has seen a growing number of users, with accounts increasing to around 17 000 during its maiden trading year, while trades on the platform have reached a monthly average of 300 000.
The introduction of C-trade has revolutionized capital markets, making them more accessible to previously excluded communities by simply trading on the ZSE and FINSEC through use of their mobile phones.
“C-Trade is significant, it’s a game-changer set to alter how we perceive and interact with stock markets. For today it becomes a reality for millions of Zimbabweans who for so long thought it unimaginable to have the stock market literary at their fingertips with the option to partake in and enjoy the benefits of deploying their money with unprecedented simplicity as investors,” capital market regulator, Securities Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZ), chief executive Mr Tafadzwa Chinamo said at the C-Trade launch.
