GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS LEADERSHIP

MASTERS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

[HARARE COHORT]
STUDENT NAME : MISHECK CHIMHONDO
STUDENT NUMBER : R212103Z QUALIFICATION
COURSE TITLE : BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS 1. Post- Graduate Diploma in Applied Taxation.(ICTA)
COURSE CODE : MBA 740 2. Association of Chartered Certified Accountants(ACCA)(UK)
FACILITATOR : MR. TAKAIDZA SIBANDA 3. Bachelor Of Accounting Honors Degree(AU)
4. MBA (1.2) (Midlands State University)

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY :
• Steward Bank (Current): Executive Assistant to CFO,
• Steward Bank : Financial Accountant,
• Steward Bank: Operations Supervisor,
• Grain Marketing Board: Trainee Internal Auditor,
• LPS Real Estate: Financial Accountant.
 Presentation Outline
Theoretical/ Conceptual
Research Topic 1 8
framework

Limitations
Background to the study 2 9

Problem statement 3 10 Brief literature review

Research Objectives 4 11 Brief methodology

Presentation
Outline 12 Definition of key terms and
Statement of Hypothesis 5 list of acronyms

Significance of the study 6 13 Proposed timetable

Delimitation 7 14 Proposed budget

 Research Topic

Impact of Covid 19 on the development of fintech in financial institutions in Harare Zimbabwe.

 Background of the study
Authors Contributions Knowledge Gap

Fu .J (2022), Mishra .M (2022) Fintech in the time of COVID−19: Technological adoption during crises. Theoretical and Practical Gap: The research concentrated more
on the relationship between Covid 19 and adoption of fintech
apps pertaining to both the asset and liability side of the
traditional bank balance sheet. The role impact remained a
cavernous gap.

Did COVID-19 change spillover patterns between Fintech and other asset Practical gap: The research focused only on whether the Covid-
Le .L(2021), Yarovaya .L(2021), Nasir .M(2021) classes?. 19 pandemic influenced spill over patterns between fintech and
other asset classes in Asia. The study made no reference to
Zimbabwean context.

FinTech in COVID-19 and Beyond: What Factors Are Affecting Customers’ Literature gap: The study was limited to the Indian context, and
Mohammad K. Al nawayseh(2020) Choice of FinTech Applications? much emphasis was made to customers and not to any other
stakeholders.

Gupta .S(2021), Agrawal .A(2021) Analytical Study Of Fintech In India: Pre & Post Pandemic Covid-19. Practical gap: The study focused on both pre-Covid 19 pandemic
and post-Covid 19 pandemic and fintech in India. The study
made no reference to the Zimbabwean context and the
development of fintech in financial institutions.

Yan .J(2022), Jia .P(2021) The Impact of COVID-19 on Bank Sector Traditional Business Model Theoretical gap: The study was a comparative study which only
Sustainability in China: Bank Branch Versus Fintech. focused on the impact of Covid 19 on the banking sector in
China, and thus results cannot be generalised to the Zimbabwean
context.

Sapulette .M(2021), Effendi .N(2021), Santoso .T(2021) Fintech, Banks, And The Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence From Indonesia. Theoretical Gap: The study was limited to Indonesia as it made
no reference to how Zimbabwe’s fintech development In
financial institutions was affected.

Chirume .E(2021) The Effects of Covid-19 on the Financial Sector and the Role of Social Media as Practical gap: The study made no reference to how fintech
an Advertising Tool in these Trying Times in Zimbabwe. development in financial institutions was impacted by the Covid
19 pandemic.

Pinshi .C(2021) Exploring the usefulness of Fintech in the dark era of COVID-19 Research gap: The study focused on the impact of fintech on
Macroeconometric analysis View project Monetary Policy and Exchange rate macroeconomic analysis during the Covid 19 pandemic, and it
View project. did not look at the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic itself on the
development of fintech in financial institutions.

06/14/2022 4
 Background of the study
Authors Contributions Knowledge Gap

Hossain .M(2021), Chowdhury .T(2021) ADBI Working Paper Series COVID-19, FINTECH, AND THE RECOVERY Theoretical and Practical Gap: The study was limited to
OF MICRO, SMALL, AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES: EVIDENCE Bangladesh as this was the study area. The study made no
FROM BANGLADESH Asian Development Bank Institute. emphasis on fintech development in financial institutions as it
only focused on fintech and the recovery of SMEs.

Najaf .K (2022), Subramaniam .R(2022), Atayah. O(2022) Understanding the implications of FinTech Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending during the Practical gap: The study was only limited to the implications of
COVID-19 pandemic. fintech P2P lending during the pandemic, without looking at
fintech development in financial institutions.

Guliyev .A(2016), Maria .S(2016), Marnoto .F(2016) The Impact of Fintech on Banking Industry in Portugal. Practical gap: The study only focused on how fintech impacts the
banking sector in Portugal, making no emphasis on how the
Covid 19 pandemic impacted fintech development in Zimbabwe.

Sugandi .E(2021) ADBI Working Paper Series THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND INDONESIA'S Literature gap: There was no emphasis in this study on the
FINTECH MARKETS Asian Development Bank Institute. impact of Covid 19 on the development of fintech in financial
institutions specifically in Zimbabwe’s financial institutions. The
study focused on how the Indonesian banking sector was
impacted by the pandemic.

Kabisa MManzvera JChapeyama TMugova A Impact of COVID-19 on Agricultural Food Systems in Zimbabwe The Forest Practical gap: The study only focused on the impact of the covid-
and Farm Facility program View project Integrating Gender and Nutrition in 19 pandemic only focused on agricultural food systems and had
Agricultural Extension Services (INGENAES) View project Key Points Policy no focus on the development of fintech in financial institutions.
Brief Impact of COVID-19 on Agricultural Food Systems in Zimbabwe-Food
Procurement and Sales

Nair, D., Veeragandham, M., Pamnani, P., Prasad, S., & Guruprasad, M. Analysing the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on the fintech industry in India. Theoretical and Practical gap: This study was conducted as part
(2021). of a research effort to gain a brief understanding of the
modifications and how the functioning of the Fintech Industry in
India has changed as a result of the impact of COVID-19.
However, this study focused only on India, thus the research is
limited to India only and cannot be generalized to a developing
country like Zimbabwe.

06/14/2022 5
 Problem Statement

 Zimbabwe along with all other countries in the world witnessed a dramatic shift and disruption in the operational model of the numerous sectors due to the elastic headways in technology, and
financial institutions have not been spared.

 COVID-19 wreaked havoc on every business and disrupted its operations, and the Fintech industry was no exception.

 With most financial firms dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, several experimented with novel approaches to combat and save their businesses.

 It resulted in a shift in payment habits as a result of the pandemic, and it cleared the way for artificial intelligence (AI) to emulate human touch in payment interactions.

 While the term "fintech" conjures up thoughts of start-ups and cutting-edge technology, traditional businesses and banks continued to use fintech services for their own objectives. Fintech is
thus at the forefront.

 COVID-19 had a detrimental impact on Zimbabwe's banking sector (Li & Yan, 2022), but it aided the growth of competitors (fintech sector) (Amankwah-Amoah et al., 2021).

 To avoid contracting COVID-19, the public reduced their outing frequency and increased their internet usage during the pandemic (Lu et al., 2021).

 Consumer habits altered substantially throughout the pandemic, according to Jiang and Stylos (2021), with a quick surge in personal online spending and a critical role for digital technology
(Chen et al., 2021; Chen et al., 2020).

 Like all other industries, the development of fintech in the financial industry in Zimbabwe was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and it is against this background that this proposed study
seeks to investigate.
 Research Objectives

The research objectives are to;

• To provide an overview of the evolution of Digital technology with a focus on fintech in financial institutions in Zimbabwe.
• To examine how the development of fintech impacted the livelihoods of stakeholders in the financial institutions in Zimbabwe.
• To analyse how the development of fintechs altered the landscape of the financial system expressly associated with Zimbabwe’s
scenario.
• To determine the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic on the adaptiveness of fintech in the financial sector in Zimbabwe.
 H1 :Digital technology with a focus on fintech has evolved in the financial institutions in
Zimbabwe.

Statement of H2 :The development of fintech has impacted the livelihoods of stakeholders in the financial

Hypothesis
institutions in Zimbabwe.

H3 :The development of fintech altered the landscape of the financial systems expressly with
Zimbabwe’s scenario.

H4 :The Covid-19 pandemic influenced the adaptiveness of fintech in the financial sector in
Zimbabwe.

8
 Significance of the study

 Significance to Practice
 The contributions of this study, as compared to the current literature, are mostly in the following areas:

 To begin with, the majority of current research focuses on COVID-19's influence on the non-banking sector and non-financial sector.

 Banks and financial institutions, on the other hand, have gotten scant attention from academics despite their importance as a financial institution for economic development.

 The studies that have been undertaken have also only looked at COVID-19's short-term effects on the banking sector.

 The typical financial business model is the subject of this paper's investigation.

 It examines COVID-19's long-term influence on the development of fintech in the financial sector, filling gaps in the previous literature. The findings of this research help to a better understanding of
the COVID-19 economic outcomes from a financial point of view.

 Significance to Theory/Learning

 The study fills the gap in the literature on the impact of Covid-19 on the development of fintech in financial institutions in Harare, Zimbabwe.

 The study redirects attention of future studies towards a further empirical analysis of the impact of Covid-19 on the development of fintech in financial institutions not only in Harare, but also in the
Southern African region.
Conceptual framework
 Delimitation
Time scope
01 The research will focus on the period from 2020 to 2022 and the research will be done
from April to August 2022.

Geographic scope
02 The research will be done in Zimbabwe and will focus on fintech development in
financial institutions in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Methodological scope
03 The research will be based on both Qualitative and Quantitative methods.

Literature scope
04 Literature to be reviewed will focus on the impact of Covid-19 on the development of
fintech in financial institutions in Harare, Zimbabwe.
 Limitations
The limitation for the research include;
Research participants may not provide the required
Respondents who may fail to complete the information due to confidentiality policies of the
questionnaire - 60% of completed questionnaire financial institutions. The researcher will overcome
will be an acceptable this limitation by assuring them that the research is
threshold. entirely for academic purpose and confidentiality
will be maintained.

Data encryption is another limitation as some of the

Use of structured interviews questions as data
websites for the financial institutions necessary to
collection instrument limit the contribution of
carry out document analysis will be encrypted.
respondents – each variable will have sufficient
However, many websites with relevant data are not
information to overcome the problem.
encrypted.

Access to information is limited due to the high

Data encryption is another limitation as some of the
sensitivity and confidentiality of the subject matter
websites of the financial institutions necessary to
– secondary data such as the Reports will be part of
carry out document analysis will be encrypted.
the data sources. - non disclose agreements will be
However, many websites with relevant data are not
signed where such fears are raised.
encrypted.
 Literature Review
 COVID-19 has clearly impacted the global economy, with long-term ramifications for businesses and consumers (Lu et al., 2021).
 Despite this complicated background, FinTech has proven to be resilient and flexible, contributing to the pandemic effort, changing operations and offers to serve
vulnerable market sectors such as micro, small, and medium-sized firms, and growing year over year in most locations.
 Covid-19 is hastening changes in people's connections with financial services, resulting in enormous demand for the transition to secure and inclusive digital
financing from poor countries (Amankwah-Amoah et al., 2021).
 There are evidence that some companies' financial situations are deteriorating, and they are apprehensive about their capacity to raise cash in the future.
 Given the huge economic prospects that FinTech provides, this is something that the FinTech community should keep in mind (Chen et al., 2021; Chen et al., 2020).
 In the last few of years, Zimbabwe's fintech scene has changed dramatically. Due to the substantial shift in online technology created by the pandemic, COVID-19
has badly disrupted many processes in various sectors of the country (Jiang & Stylos, 2021).
 The Fintech sector continues to be one area that has seen tremendous degree of volatility in its structure and operation.
 As a result of the pandemic, many businesses have shifted their focus to product and process innovation in order to become more customer-centric and prepare for
large-scale disruptions (Lu et al., 2021).
 FinTech has shown its ability to fill gaps in the provision of financial services to individuals and businesses in emerging markets and developing countries.
 The poll demonstrates how the FinTech industry is responding to the pandemic and provides recommendations for regulators and politicians seeking to develop and
benefit from FinTech technology while minimizing risks to consumers, investors, financial stability, and integrity (Chen et al., 2021; Chen et al., 2020).
 However, its expansion should be viewed in context of complexities and unevenness, and prospects for the business should be balanced against the obstacles it faces.
COVID-19 has clearly impacted the global economy, with long-term ramifications for businesses and consumers (Jiang & Stylos, 2021).
 Methodology of the study
 This study will use a pragmatism research approach, which is a combination of positivism and interpretivism.
 Stakeholders from financial institutions that are part of the under research will be the target population.
 Accountants, IT personnel, and other finance personnel from financial institutions are among the respondents and
study participants.
 Data will be gathered utilising a combination of primary and secondary sources.
 Secondary data will come from financial reports, digital adaptability reports, academic publications, and articles,
while primary data will come from interviews with finance personnel, IT personnel, customer relations personnel,
and other members of the target population.
 The researcher will follow ethical guidelines such as informed permission, confidentiality, and privacy.
 Definition of key terms and acronyms
 COVID 19: Coronavirus Disease 2019
 FinTech: Financial Technology
_________________________________________________________________________________________
 Impact:  the strong effect or influence that something has on a situation or person.
 Development: a process that creates growth, progress, positive change or the addition of physical, economic, environmental,
social and demographic components.
 Financial Institutions: a firm that specializes in financial transactions like investments, loans, and deposits.
 Covid 19: Coronaviruses are a type of virus that can cause illnesses including the common cold, SARS, and Middle East
respiratory syndrome (MERS). In 2019, a novel coronavirus was discovered to be the source of a sickness outbreak in China.
The virus is recognized as coronavirus 2 for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2). Coronavirus illness 2019 is
the name of the sickness it causes (COVID-19).
 FinTech: Financial technology is a combination of technology and innovation aimed at competing with traditional financial
methods in the supply of financial services. It is a new industry that employs technology to improve financial activities (Roy,
2018).
 Proposed Time Table

Activity March 22 April 22 May 22 June 22 July 22 Aug 22 Sept 22 Oct 22 Nov 22 Dec 22 Jan 22

Proposal Writing and Literature Collection

Proposal Approval - MSU

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Recruitment and Training of Research Assistants

Data Collection

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Dissertation Submission and Presentation

 Proposed Budget

ITEM COST CENTER DESCRIPTION ESTIMATED COST

(USD)

01 Subscriptions to Online Journals 75.00

Publishers

02 Questionnaire Printing 80.00

03 Questionnaire Administration 175.00
04 Travelling Expenses 120.00
05 Printing and Binding 60.00
06 Refreshments 50.00

Total Budget 560.00

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THANK
YOU
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