Zimbabwe’s push to digitise property ownership records is drawing interest from the financial sector, with CBZ Holdings acquiring a stake in the technology firm tasked with modernising the country’s deeds registry.
According to newZwire, the country’s largest banking group, is purchasing a 17.5% shareholding in Dokuma, a software company contracted by government to digitise records at the Deeds Office. The proposed transaction was among mergers and acquisitions submitted to the Competition and Tariff Commission for review in the final quarter of 2025.
The investment highlights the growing link between land administration reform and access to finance. Through its agricultural unit, CBZ Agro-Yield, the bank is already involved in programmes aimed at issuing title deeds to farmers resettled under Zimbabwe’s land reform programme. Authorities say formal land ownership will enable farmers to use property as collateral and unlock credit from banks.
Government selected Dokuma in 2023 to overhaul the country’s largely manual deeds system and introduce a digital platform capable of storing and managing property records electronically. The decision followed recommendations from a taskforce led by the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
The taskforce said the new system would replace the existing manual process, which it described as “tedious and ineffective.”
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As part of the transition, government gazetted Statutory Instrument 76 of 2025, requiring holders of older title deeds to submit them for verification within two years. The documents will be converted into digitally secured versions known as “securitised deeds,” which will be stored in a central electronic database.
Dokuma, originally founded in Rwanda and registered locally in Zimbabwe, says the project involves converting thousands of physical records into digital format while building the infrastructure to manage future property transactions electronically.
On its website, the company says “the team is currently working on a major initiative to digitize the Deeds Department in Zimbabwe, which involves transforming all hard copy deeds into electronic format.”
Dokuma also says it is involved in the Presidential Title Deed Programme, which “aims to address the issue of informal settlements in Zimbabwe by urbanising them and issuing title deeds to their residents.”
For CBZ, the investment places the bank closer to a reform programme that could reshape property ownership, land administration and lending in Zimbabwe’s agricultural and housing sectors.
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