86
Changing Lives
January 2016
Inflation by the hour
By 7 p.m the same day
the same Coke cost
ZIM$100 billion
By 12 noon
the same Coke cost
ZIM$100 billion
A Coke bought at
8 a.m cost
ZIM$50 billion
2008: In Zimbabwe, with hyperinflation touching 5 Billion, all
mayhem broke loose. A bottle of Coke costing ZIM $50 Billion in
the morning sells for over ZIM $150 Billion in the evening – a hike
of over 300%. This was what living in Zimbabwe was like in 2008.
Things came to such a pass by 2009 that the Zimbabwean Dollar
(ZIM) was not worth the paper it was printed on and was soon
replaced by the US Dollar. Although the currency shift managed
to control the wildly galloping inflation but it also gave rise to new
problems and challenges. “Dollarization of Economy” wiped off
bank savings of millions of Zimbabweans even while they were
queuing up in front of their banks to withdraw their savings.
People lost their trust in banking institutions and turned to
informal payment channels. Moreover, with $1 being the
minimum currency in use, Zimbabweans experienced an acute
coin shortage leading to “change problem”.
Now, let us fast forward to 2015: the economy is rebounding,
the change problem has been marginalized, and financial
inclusion is finally a reality and not some visionary's dream. The
credit for driving this change goes to EcoCash, Zimbabwe's first
and most prominent mobile service company. Launched in 2011,
Things came to such
a pass by 2009 that
the Zimbabwean
Dollar (ZIM) was not
worth the paper it
was printed on and
was soon replaced by
the US Dollar.