Exploring the Emergence and Strategic Evolution of an Emerging Fintech MicroBank in Zimbabwe Operating in a VUCA Environment
Memory Feresu · Makumbe William · Emmanuel Mutambara ORCID ↗
International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy · 2026 · Vol. 8 / Issue 5 · 62-75
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Observed 21 Oct 2026, 00:14 UTC
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Abstract
This paper examines the emergence and strategic evolution of InnBucks MicroBank Limited, a Zimbabwean Microfinance organisation that evolved from a restaurant-change management digital wallet into a licensed deposit-taking microfinance bank serving around 3 million users within 4 years. Operating in what is arguably one of the most extreme VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environments globally, characterised by currency failures, chronic hyperinflation, regulatory unpredictability, and severe infrastructure deficits, InnBucks offers a compelling case for exploring how organisations emerge, adapt, and scale amid genuine chaos. The analysis incorporates five theoretical frameworks: Chaos Theory, Entrepreneurial Orientation Theory, Disruptive Innovation and Frugal Innovation, the Viable System Model, and Strategic Decision-Making Theory. These are utilised to explain InnBucks' institutional pivots, its evolution to a registered deposit taking microfinance, its utilisation of Simbisa Brands' restaurant network as financial infrastructure, and its recent shift to cloud-native banking through the Mambu/AWS partnership. The paper proposes the ARISE (Agility, Resilience, Innovation, Systemic, Entrepreneurial) conceptual framework, which combines five theoretical perspectives into a practical model to steer strategic emergence in resource-limited, institutionally fragile environments. It concludes that InnBucks' trajectory challenges traditional assumptions about the prerequisites for financial innovation and provides transferable insights for emerging organisations operating within Sub-Saharan Africa's growing fintech ecosystem.
Keywords: {'name': 'Emerging organisation, fintech, financial inclusion, sustainability, VUCA'}
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Memory Feresu
North-West University
Makumbe William
North-West University
Emmanuel Mutambara
North-West University
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