Online Reporter
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
WHEN Dr Langalakhe Moyo launched the first edition of the Matobo Gin Festival in 2021, he did not have profit in his mind.
Of course, whenever a promoter hosts a major event, one imagines they do so with dollar signs already flashing in their eyes.
For Dr Moyo, a chemical engineer by trade, this was not the case. As he held the first edition of that event, powered by a gin inspired by a beverage named after the picturesque district in Matabeleland South, he did not have immediate cash rewards on his mind. Instead, he had a long-term plan, one which revolved around tourism and the promotion of the country’s locally made craft alcohol.
“I’ve never really made money from the Gin Fest,” he told Sunday Life in an interview.
Last Saturday, the Matobo Gin Fest held arguably its most successful edition to date, as hundreds of revellers turned up to party with the calm waters of Sandy Spruit Dam in the background.
Many would have considered this the Matobo Gin Fest’s crowning moment. However, for Dr Moyo, the true moment of glory came a few days later when, at the launch of Zimbabwe’s participation at the Belgrade, Serbia Expo 2027, Matobo Gin was heralded as one of the country’s locally made products that will be exhibited by ZimTrade in the Balkan Peninsula.
For Dr Moyo, this represented a full-circle moment, as a dream that began six years ago took what he believes is a giant leap.
The journey to Belgrade is not one that Matobo Gin will make alone. Other locally produced craft gins, including Ngoto and Masau, are also set to be showcased, giving Zimbabwean producers an opportunity to put their products before a market beyond the African continent.
For Dr Moyo, the fact that all three have been part of the Matobo Gin Festival is evidence that the platform is beginning to fulfil one of the central ambitions behind its creation.
“You know, I always tell people that the Gin Fest is about two things. Number one, it is about raising funds for the park.
“Number two, it is about marketing craft gin, particularly African-made gin. So, this goes to show that what we started the Gin Fest for is actually working.
“You know, it’s working because it’s not just Matobo Gin that’s going. There’s also Ngoto and Masau. These are three gins that have participated in the Gin Fest. So, literally, ZimTrade approached us to ask who else could participate because they know we do the festival. This is what we do,” he said.
While the festival has grown into one of Matabeleland South’s notable leisure events, Dr Moyo said its purpose had never simply been to draw crowds and make money from revellers.
Instead, it was conceived as a vehicle that could simultaneously promote locally made gin and contribute towards the conservation of the environment in which the festival is held. “It’s also about raising funds for the park, not necessarily making money,” he said.
The forthcoming journey to Serbia could now provide the kind of international exposure that Dr Moyo has sought for Matobo Gin since its inception.
According to him, ZimTrade has acquired about 150 Zimbabwean products for showcasing and sale, with the products already making their way to their destination.
“What ZimTrade is doing is taking certain products from Zimbabwe that are going to be showcased in the future. So, they literally bought about 150 products, and they’re going to be exhibiting and selling them.
“They’ve already shipped those products. They are already on the way,” he said.
For Matobo Gin, Belgrade represents more than just another exhibition. While the brand has ventured into regional markets before, it has never crossed the African continent into Europe.
Dr Moyo said this was particularly significant because the premium nature of craft gin means producers have to identify markets that appreciate both the product and the price attached to producing it.
“For us as Matobo Gin, it has always been about the tourism sector and the export market. Because it’s craft gin, it’s limited in terms of its price. So, these are the kinds of markets that we’ve been looking for. I think this is a breakthrough for us. It’s going to be our first time selling and exhibiting in Europe.
“We’ve done Namibia and Zambia, but we’ve never gone beyond the African continent. So, it’s really a huge opportunity for us, and we’re looking forward to the whole thing,” he said.
The breakthrough comes at a time when Dr Moyo believes the Gin Fest itself is beginning to attract greater corporate interest.
This year’s edition saw First Mutual come on board as a partner, while other corporate representatives attended the festival, something Dr Moyo believes could translate into more partnerships in future editions.
“I think we’ve got a bit of traction in terms of partners. Now we’ve got First Mutual as a partner. They came in kind of at the last minute this year, but they were like, ‘Ah no, this is a keeper. Our budgets are already set because it’s the end of the year and so on, but we just want to see what it is about, and then we’re going to commit next year.’
“So, I think we have First Mutual, we’ve got Rugare, and we had a couple of others. What I noticed about this year is that we had a lot of corporates present, not necessarily as partners at the Gin Fest, but I’m sure they came to see what it is about, you know, for future opportunities,” he said.
The interest, he said, was not limited to companies merely sending representatives to scout for possible partnerships. Some were already treating attendance at the festival as an experience worth facilitating for their employees.
“So, it’s amazing because there are corporates that actually send people to the Gin Fest. Some guys from a local bank were like, ‘We send our people and we want an invoice of how much they spend so that we can repay them.’ So, it’s been very interesting,” he said.
