NMB Tanzania Gender Bond

In March 2022, NMB Bank issued the Jasiri Bond, a three-year gender bond at par with a gross coupon rate of 8.5% per annum. The bond raised TZS 74 billion (approximately USD 32 million) and was 197% oversubscribed, reflecting strong investor demand. The bond was listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) and matured in 2025, with NMB Bank meeting all principal and interest obligations in full and on time.

The Jasiri Bond was the first gender bond from Sub-Saharan Africa to be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE), with its listing displayed on the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX). Although secondary trading took place exclusively on the DSE, the Luxembourg listing enhanced the international visibility of Tanzanian sustainable finance instruments and raised the profile of gender-labelled bonds among global investors. The issuance was conducted under NMB Bank's Social Bond Framework, which aligned with the International ICMA Social Bond Principles and reflected the bank's mission to promote human development and social inclusion.

As the first gender-labelled bond in East Africa, the transaction sought to introduce a new thematic asset class into a market where neither issuers, investors, nor regulators had prior experience with gender-labelled debt. Beyond NMB's willingness to issue, coordinated interventions by different institutions to address first-mover barriers contributed to the bond's successful launch.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) acted as the anchor investor, subscribing to 31% of the issuance (approximately USD 10 million in Tanzanian shillings), and thus providing an early demand signal and encouraging participation from other investors in a first-of-its-kind issuance. This support strengthened the transaction's credibility and investor confidence in the bond's alignment with internationally recognised social finance standards.