Bard Santner names 13-member board as it targets diaspora remittances

Bard Santner Microfinance Bank has announced a 13-member board following its recent launch, bringing together executives and professionals with experience in banking, financial regulation, audit, law and corporate governance.

The institution says it aims to serve Zimbabweans in the diaspora and connect remittance flows with local businesses and investment opportunities. Its board is drawn from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mauritius, India and the United Kingdom.

Vinod Bussawah has been appointed chairman. The independent directors are Roger Bennett, Scott Trimble, Brad Shorkend, Peter Wood, Dr Roshan Boodhoo, Niazi Hoolash and Monika Bhatt. Senziwani Sikhosana, Tatenda Hungwe and Lucia Chingwaru are listed as non-executive directors, while Ngonidzashe Chikowore and Givemore Gomo are executive directors, serving as managing director and finance director respectively.

The appointments come against a backdrop of past banking failures in Zimbabwe, where depositors have suffered losses amid economic instability and governance breakdowns. The bank says the board’s role will include oversight of governance and the protection of customers’ funds.

“Our job as a board is simple: to protect depositors’ money and to make sure the bank is run to international standards,” Bussawah said.

Bussawah, a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, has more than 30 years’ experience in finance and governance and chairs audit committees at two listed companies, according to the bank.

Other board members bring experience from regional and international institutions. Boodhoo is a former chief executive of Mauritius’ Financial Services Commission and former deputy chief executive of SBM Group. He also serves on the board of a Nasdaq-listed company.

Trimble has held senior and board-level positions at HSBC, HBOS, Grant Thornton, Moore Global and the Isle of Man’s financial regulator. He was named UK Anti-Money Laundering Advisor of the Year in 2022 and 2023.

Bennett has worked in banking and trust services for four decades, including roles at Lloyds Bank, Canada Trust and CIBC. He also founded Fortress Management Services in the Isle of Man. Hoolash, a former associate director at KPMG and senior manager at PwC, has led central-bank-mandated restructurings of commercial banks.

Shorkend is an adjunct faculty member at the Gordon Institute of Business Science and Duke Corporate Education, and advises leadership teams internationally. Bhatt specialises in corporate law and governance. Wood is a former chairman of BancABC Zimbabwe.

The bank’s founders—Sikhosana, Hungwe and Chingwaru—are among the non-executive directors. Chikowore and Gomo will serve in executive roles. Sikhosana, who has experience in Zimbabwe’s banking and financial-services sector, was recently named the Institute of Directors Zimbabwe’s 2026 Director of the Year, the article states.

Chikowore said the bank had assembled local and international expertise to build an institution aimed at diaspora customers.

“Zimbabweans deserve a new fintech institution they can trust. That is why we brought together experts with great track records, locally, regionally and internationally, alongside people who know this market well, to build a new diaspora-focused institution from sracth.
We want to lay a strong foundation, ensure corporate governance and protect depositors’ funds from the word go.”

Sikhosana described trust, security and transparency as central to a bank’s relationship with customers.

“Banks are founded on trust.
Trust in banking is gradually earned through customer-centred, efficient and consistent service, security, and transparency.
Trust and the interplay of confidence and accountability become the nerve-centre of banking.
This entails a deep responsibility to protect both depositors’ funds, confidentiality and data.
When customers choose a bank, they are not just choosing a name or brand; they are entering a confidential relationship built on the legitimate expectation of safety of their funds, confidentiality of their information and ethical behaviour.”

Bard Santner’s digital-first model is intended to link Zimbabweans and other African diaspora communities—including those in South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States—with small and medium-sized businesses and investment funds in the region. Such cross-border activity brings compliance demands, including anti-money-laundering controls and customer-identification processes.

The bank says the board’s mix of executive and independent oversight is intended to support governance as it develops. Its ability to build customer confidence and maintain compliance will be important as it seeks to operate in a market shaped by economic volatility and a history of banking-sector problems.