By Obiabin Onukwugha
There is increasing global demand for baobab powder, which presents an opportunity for a country like Zimbabwe, which has plenty of baobab trees. Young Zimbabweans are making good use of the opportunity.
Extracted from the fruit of the baobab tree, the powder contains nearly four times the vitamin C of oranges and is a source of essential minerals like potassium and magnesium.
According to reports, Zimbabwe boasts an estimated five million baobab trees, approximately 3.75 million on communal lands, offering significant commercial prospects.
One young entrepreneur utilising this considerable opportunity is Gus Le Breton, swhose company, B’Ayoba, processes baobab into powder and seed oil for export.
Le Breton was instrumental in securing a European Union market approval for baobab powder in 2008.
In a recent interview with howwemadeitinsfrica, Le Breton noted that Zimbabwe has the potential to harvest not less than 12,000 tones of baobab fruit annually
“A conservative estimate is that we could harvest about 12,000 tonnes of fruit sustainably yearly. At present, we are only harvesting 1,500 tonnes annually.”
Abramson added, “All these new emerging trends – they start small and then people start putting them in drinks and all kinds of food applications,” he stated.
Also, Ms Ngonidzashe Mazhura was 19 when she established Thandie’s Village, a local company that specialises l\] in adding value to the baobab fruit into a range of high-value products.
The dream to grow big and the self-drive to defy the odds have yielded results, as the young company has made colossal market inroads. In 2023, her company was one of the 23 Zimbabwean companies that exhibited at the Global Expo Botswana.
She says she named the company after her mother, “Thandie,” as an honour. She produces baobab powder, which has a higher concentration of vitamin C and iron, as well as baobab oil from the seed, which is used as a cosmetic mainly by ladies. The company also produces baobab candy, a value-added healthier snack, and baobab coffee.
She said her company was also working with communities that harvest baobab fruit from different parts of Zimbabwe. They assist them with training and safety issues to ensure environmental sustainability.
Ms Mazhura says her passion for creating a business with a health-conscious focus on diet issues was inspired by her background from her local church, which has a record of mainstreaming healthful living.
She said the baobab fruit, for instance, has several medicinal qualities that help ease the disease burden, attributes that have been confirmed by scientific findings.
Another young Zimbabwean making a significant impact through the baobab fruit business is Mr Kudakwashe Garaipasi, who has unlocked a massive potential in its fruit by starting a baobab processing company and creating employment for locals.
Essential Delights, located in Beitbridge, employs at least 31 people. It supplies wholesalers, retailers, shops, hotels, and lodges countrywide and has also managed to attract clients in Mozambique, South Africa, and Botswana.
It was gathered that scores of community members earn a living by gathering the fruit and supplying the company.
Garaipasi’s company produces a wide range of products such as baobab juices, baobab mahewu, a traditional opaque beer called Mahafhe in Venda language, baobab creams, baobab oil, yoghurt, baobab coffee, energy drinks, purified water and instant porridge.
Reports have it that Mr Garaipasi established the company in 2019 with the assistance of Dr Anna Muleya, a multi-award-winning businesswoman based in Beitbridge.
The young entrepreneur said they make 1,500 and 2,000 beverage bottles per hour on a good day, translating to more than 70,000 monthly units.
“We believe our country has all the raw materials; hence, we need to make end products for consumption. We believe in industrialisation and the ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ mantra; hence, we are making inroads into markets countrywide,” Garaipasi said in an interview.
