Zimbabwe's first cigar factory rolling on through lockdown

Mosi-Oa-Tunya, which means “the smoke that thunders,” has long been the local name for Victoria Falls. Now it's also Zimbabwe’s first hand-rolled cigar company.

The recently established cigar factory in Harare, which uses tobacco grown locally and wrappers imported from the Dominican Republic, employs an all-female staff.

Shep Mafundikwa, founder and CEO of Mosi-Oa-Tunya, lived in the US for 15 years. His dream was always to come home to Zimbabwe. Before doing so, he travelled to Cuba and the Dominican Republic to learn about the cigar industry.

Last year, he finally returned to Zimbabwe and set up Mosi-Oa-Tunya.

“I recognised a niche market because in the whole of Africa [there] are only two companies making cigars. I couldn’t think why in Zimbabwe no one thought of making cigars,” he said.

“So instead of exporting our tobacco in its raw form, I thought I could add some value by making cigars and exploiting the niche market that exists within the cigar industry.”

Mafundikwa recruited a head of production and training from the Dominican Republic, Elias Lopez - a cigar maestro with 30 years' experience in rolling cigars - and moved him to Harare, where he helps train a workforce in the art of rolling by hand.

Mosi-Oa-Tunya now employs an all-women staff of seven rollers. Since March, they have been undergoing on-the-job training. Each worker is expected to produce at least 256 cigars a day.

Zimbabwe is Africa's biggest tobacco producer and the sixth largest in the world, making tobacco one of Zimbabwe's top exports.

But the new company hasn’t been spared from challenges. “We have been affected by the pandemic. Our training was disrupted but now we're back in training and our ladies are catching on so fast. We are looking to put our product on the market as soon as the pandemic eases,” said Mafundikwa.

The company believes in providing employment to Zimbabwe’s unemployed women, he said.

One of the trainees, Linnet Matizanhau, said learning to hand-roll cigars has been a great experience.

“I consider myself very lucky to be one of the women learning how to hand-roll a cigar in Zimbabwe. It is a life-changing experience for me and my family, because now I am able to provide food and education for my children,” she said.

Once lockdown restrictions ease, Mafundikwa hopes to start exporting regionally to South Africa and Angola. He is also setting his sights on the US, Vietnam and Dubai.