Econet Going Ahead With Cassava Smartech Demerger After Getting Unanimous Approval From Shareholders

Econet is going ahead with the demerger of Cassava Smartech after getting (Econet) a unanimous shareholders approval at the Extraordinary General Meeting. Cassava Smartech which is meant to provide relevant and innovative digital solutions in Zimbabwe, is a diversified “SmarTech” group that shelters companies like EcoCash, Steward bank, Econet Life and whole lot of tech-focused companies.

The demerger will consequently see Cassava Smartech listing separately in what is expected to be the largest initial listing on Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. Something which is expected to happen on the 11th of  December 2018, the day of its listing.

At best, the demerger will see Cassava Smartech wholly give its undivided attention and resources on its “smartech” business, a strategic decision in the eyes of Econet. Whilst the two companies are divorcing, there will be serious collaborations in the future such that (probably) we won’t even notice that they are totally different companies. Surely you can’t expect Econet to stop zero-rating the EcoCash app just because the “smartech” company is no longer under its immediate sphere of influence. As Emilia Chisango, Cassava Zimbabwe’s Finance Director, puts it;

The demerger still affords EWZL and Cassava Zimbabwe scope to continue collaborating and expand independently of each other, whilst recognising and exploiting the inherent synergies between them