Entrepreneur turns baobab into medication

Tanaka Nyambo

HARARE entrepreneur, Bester Mutanhaurwa, has ventured into making different products, including medicine, from baobab fruit.

Mutanhaurwa said she got the idea from Angola and she now owns a factory in Southerton.

“I used to be a cross border trader before I started my own company,” she told H-Metro. 

“I learnt from Angola that one can do a lot from baobab, and decided to come back home and start making products from the fruit.

“I started alone and then later employed 10 ladies who worked with me before I opened a factory.”

She said her company makes various products from the baobab fruit, which mostly work like medication.

“We have baobab coffee, which stabilises high blood pressure and diabetes, and also helps women with menstrual pain.

“Baobab powder helps flush out acids from the body and can be used to make porridge.

“We now have tissue oil for stretch marks and firming the skin which we make from the baobab fruit.”

Mutanhaurwa hopes to expand her business and reach international markets in the future.

The baobab fruit is known for its nutritional value and has been used in traditional medicine for generations.

However, Mutanhaurwa’s innovative approach to making different products from the fruit shows the potential for economic growth and development in the country’s agriculture sector.