The pensions are not denominated in Zimbabwe dollars, since they quickly evaporate, nor in American dollars, since many Zimbabweans are struggling to obtain any.

Instead, they are denominated in cows, which the government can’t print. Savers, typically wage-earners such as teachers, chip in cash, which Nhaka immediately turns into cattle. The assets grow by breeding. When a policy matures, clients can demand payment in cows or the cash equivalent.

His scheme is especially suited to a country where savers have lost all confidence in conventional finance. The only way to rebuild trust is to offer people “things they can touch and see”, he says. Nhaka holds viewing days when some of its 70,000 clients can visit the cows.

“Most of these, we’ll be putting a bull on them in 12 months’ time,” he says. That will be “a compounding of the investment return”.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline "Heiferinflation"