CLAIM: The World Bank has announced $1bn for Zimbabwean SMEs and is taking applications
SOURCE: A Facebook post claiming to be from Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube
VERDICT: False. The post is false and has all the signs that it is yet another web scam to harvest personal details
A Facebook page impersonating Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube claims that the World Bank is inviting Zimbabwean small businesses to apply for funding. The claim is false and appears to be another web scam to harvest personal details.
The poster on November 13 claimed (unedited): “WORLD BANK FRUSTRATED AT LOW UPTAKE OF COVID FUND: The World Bank has complained of low number of ZIMBABWE BUSINESSE’S applying for the Covid fund which was approved all the way in May. The fund was meant to cushion small businesses against shocks caused by the pandemic but most Zimbabweans have shied away from applying. Zimbabweans willing to apply for the fund can do so only through IFC website below.”
The link provided leads to a website, ifcbusiness.org. The site impersonates the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC). An article on the site, dated November 10, says: “The World Bank Board of Directors today approved a $1 billion budget support operation for Zimbabwe, which helps close the fiscal financing gap, while supporting reforms that help advance the government’s inclusive growth agenda, including in affordable housing and support to farmers’ incomes.”
It then asks you to input your details to apply; details include your name, phone number, email, physical address and other details about your company.
How we know this is fake
- The real IFC website is IFC.org, and not ifcbusiness.org.
- There is no such announcement on either the World Bank website or IFC’s authentic site. Zimbabwe’s Finance Ministry also confirms that there is no such facility.
- The picture used for the fake post has nothing to do with the World Bank. It is of Ncube and economist Steven Hanke. It was posted by the Finance Minister himself when he visited the CATO Institute, USA, in April 2019.
- It is not from Ncube’s authentic Facebook page. The fake Facebook page was created on November 13, the same day it posted the claim. It has no other posts.
This is not a new scam. ZimFact checked a similar scam in June, which claimed that there was IMF funding for SMEs. Earlier, yet another similar fake post was made, claiming funding was available from USAID. This was dismissed by USAID. Both these earlier posts also asked for personal details.
Conclusion
The claim that the World Bank has provided funding to Zimbabwean SMEs is fake. No such announcement has been made by either the World Bank or Treasury. Web scammers harvest personal details to commit fraud or spam users with adverts.
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