THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Limited (ZSE) has launched a new platform called ZSE Direct, specifically designed for the retail investor.ZSE Direct, according to ZSE chief executive officer Justin Bgoni, is an in house development aims at providing “retail investors with a smart way to manage their ZSE investments and view their CSD holdings remotely.” BY MTHANDAZO NYONI The platform will complement the platforms already available in the market with the aim to provide more choice for investors, he said in a statement yesterday. “The plans to launch ZSE Direct were prompted by a survey we commissioned in the first quarter of 2020, which indicated that participation by individual Zimbabweans on the local capital market was still marginal,” Bgoni said. He said some of the barriers cited included lack of appreciation of the investment process and the perception that investment is for the sophisticated. “ZSE Direct is meant to make accessing the market very simple for first time investors but yet allow them to experience the full investment process of having their own stockbroking account and their own CSD account,” he said. Only Zimbabweans with valid national identity cards and Zimbabwean bank accounts will be able to register on the platform in the initial phase, Bgoni said. The minimum initial investment to be made through ZSE Direct is $500. Bgoni said ZSE Direct will be accessible through the web portal and in due course a mobile application will also be launched. “The platform is connected to one of the commercial banks and allows investors to fund their wallets through Zipit or RTGS transfer. The platform is also connected to EcoCash and allows investors to fund their trading wallets directly from their EcoCash wallet,” he said. The ZSE boss said the platform is meant to make investment easy for retail investors. Some features to achieve that include user interface, your portfolio, market statistics, market depth, price range on buy and sell tabs and tutorials. “Going forward, the ZSE will continue to explore initiatives that promote financial literacy and deepen the Zimbabwean capital markets,” Bgoni said.