Business Reporter
WestProp Holdings Limited’s plans to set up a Mortgage Bank has reached a crescendo, with current work evolving around the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer.
The incoming bank by the listed property firm is a dedicated mortgage bank targeting a US$1 billion fund to provide long-term 10-, 20-, and 30-year home financing in Zimbabwe.
Speaking to delegates at the ZimReal Conference 2026, WestProp Holdings Limited CEO, and Ken Sharpe said final touches are now being laid down.
“We’re proud to say we’ve opened West Cap Mortgage on the Victoria Falls International Financial Centre. We’re employing a CEO to run the bank, and we’ll be operational by next year. We want to bring in a billion dollar fund next year to this platform, and we want to offer mortgages not only for Westrop to grow, but for the entire sector to grow,” he said.
Sharpe explained that the drive to establish the bank was inspired after realizing that there is no significant investment to tap into the vast real estate market in Zimbabwe.
“We have 100 billion US dollars of homes in Zimbabwe and yet there are no mortgages on those homes. So how do we possibly think, in author De Soto’s words, we can take the dead capital. We’re paper rich, but very poor in the pocket,” Sharpe said.
He said failure to take that dead capital and unlock the liquidity by giving citizen access to money creates a nation locked up in poverty.
“We’re proud to say we’ve opened West Cap Mortgage on the Victoria Falls International Financial Centre,” he said.
He pointed to Switzerland as an example of how mortgage financing could help transform property ownership into economic capital, allowing homeowners to borrow against their assets and invest in businesses or other productive activities.
For Sharpe, the broader objective is therefore not simply to build houses but to establish a financial system that allows property ownership to contribute to wider wealth creation.
