Staff Writer
Schweppes Holdings Africa Limited said it was excited about the prospect of expanding into Botswana which shares long-standing historical, social and cultural affinity and links with Zimbabwe.
The development is a culmination of the cordial and friendly relationship between Botswana and Zimbabwe governments.
Schweppes Holdings Africa Limited board of directors chairman, Vulindlela Ndhlovu, confirmed the engagement during a tour of the company by some 44th SADC Summit delegation.
“A significant shift that has taken place in our strategic thinking during the last six months is to actively consider expanding our fruit production and processing operations into Botswana.
“We are in dialogue with the Botswana Investment and Trade Center (BITC) officials regarding our plans to expand our fruit production and processing business and are enjoying their unstinting and consistent support,” Mr Ndhlovu said.
“When we started the engagements with our Botswana counterparts earlier this year, we never thought it would culminate in this high profile engagement on the side-lines of the 44th SADC Heads of State summit.
“We are honoured to host you and your delegation for the next hour or so to introduce our business to you-which will be handled by our executive management-before we do the plant tour.”
Mr Ndhlovu said SHAL participated in SADC industrialisation workshops that have been held on the side-lines of the 44th SADC annual conference in Harare.
“We are completely aligned with SADC goals to achieve economic development, peace, security, growth, alleviate poverty, enhance standard and quality of life of the people of Southern Africa.
“All of these regional and continental developments require us to take stock of opportunities and risks that we face as a business-and to take the necessary mitigation measures,” he said.
“We hope that today’s visit will buttress the work that has been put together by the teams and what we hope to achieve together in the citrus value chain. We believe in strong collaborations and skills transfer that we wish to continue to establish between us.”
In an interview, Ropafadzo Gwanetsa, the Schweppes Zimbabwe Limited Corporate Affairs Executive, said the visit by the delegation was a testament of the resilience the business has and growth opportunities in the citrus value chain.
“As a business, we participated in the SADC industrialization week, which showcased a lot of companies and what they were doing to promote growth within the region.
“The week was a build up to the 44th SADC Heads of State Summit which was focusing on promoting Innovation to unlock opportunities for sustained economic growth and development towards an Industrialised SADC,” Gwanetsa said.
“As a business, we are always accessing opportunities of growth and how we can position ourselves for accelerated growth and deeper integration within SADC. We are also keenly looking forward to the African continental free trade area consistent with Agenda 2063.
“There are significant benefits that we are seeing as a business, around regional citrus development, value addition and beneficiation and foreign currency generation.”
About Author
