Online Reporter
Business Reporter
THE sight of Zimbabwe’s Presidium gathered under one roof for the commissioning of a private company’s operations was enough to leave Davipel Holdings founder and chief executive officer Mr Davison Norupiri humbled.
In a short interview with The Sunday Mail, Mr Norupiri said having President Mnangagwa, Vice Presidents Dr Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi and senior Cabinet ministers attend Wednesday’s launch of Davipel’s new headquarters, stockfeeds plant and snack manufacturing facility at the Sunway City Special Economic Zone (SEZ) “marked a rare endorsement of a local private enterprise”.
“I felt really honoured. I felt that I am doing something for my country which has been endorsed by the Presidium. And for that alone, I am still at a loss for words,” he said.
For him, the occasion was not just about opening buildings and factories, but also a validation of a journey that began as a modest family business in 2002, which has evolved into a diversified agro-industrial group with ambitions of becoming a major regional player.
The company now plans to leverage its location within the Sunway City SEZ to increase production, create jobs and expand exports into regional markets.
“Your Excellency, your presence here today is a powerful endorsement of the role that the private sector plays in driving Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030,” said Mr Norupiri in his address.
The commissioning ceremony saw the official opening of Davipel’s corporate head office, a 10-tonne-per-hour agrimilling stockfeeds plant and a snack manufacturing facility capable of producing 3 000 tonnes per month.
The investments, he said, were aligned with the Government’s industrialisation agenda and objectives of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), which prioritises value addition, food security, export growth and job creation.
“We sincerely thank you (President Mnangagwa) and the Second Republic for the pro-business policies that are transforming Zimbabwe’s economy,” he said.
“Your policies on value addition, local content, import substitution and ease of doing business have given Zimbabwean entrepreneurs the confidence to invest, to build and to employ.”
Davipel, he said, had deliberately aligned its growth plans with national development priorities.
“From Vision 2030 to NDS1 and now, as we enter NDS2, we have deliberately invested in the priority areas you have set: agro-processing, industrialisation, food security and job creation,” added Mr Norupiri.
“When Government says grow the economy, we build factories; when Government says add value, we process our agro products; when Government says create jobs, we employ Zimbabweans.”
It is believed that Davipel’s expansion programme will help the company to move closer to its target of creating more than 1 000 direct jobs while supporting thousands of others across agriculture, logistics and retail value chains.
The company also intends to source more than 70 percent of its raw materials from local farmers while expanding contract farming arrangements.
Mr Norupiri said the SEZ status enjoyed by Sunway City was providing a platform for innovation, efficiency and global competitiveness.
“We are proud to operate from the special economic zone. SEZ status is both an opportunity and a responsibility,” he said. “It demands that we innovate, that we adopt new technology and that we compete globally.”
As part of that strategy, Davipel has invested in automated Turkish milling and pelleting technology for stockfeed production, modern snack manufacturing lines that meet international food safety standards and research initiatives aimed at developing new products from locally produced grains.
“The SEZ has challenged us to produce more with less, to be efficient and to ensure that ‘Made in Zimbabwe’ can compete anywhere. This is how we will deliver on NDS2,” said Mr Norupiri.
President Mnangagwa hailed Davipel as an indigenous enterprise driving the country’s industrial transformation and economic modernisation.
He said the company’s investments in snacks, stockfeeds, milling and freight services strengthened domestic manufacturing, promoted value addition, reduced imports and created sustainable employment opportunities, particularly for women and the youth.
The Sunway City SEZ has emerged as one of the country’s premier industrial hubs, housing more than 40 enterprises.
With fresh investments, expanded capacity and a strategic foothold within one of the country’s fastest-growing industrial parks, Davipel is positioning itself to become a major contributor to the country’s industrialisation drive and a stronger exporter into regional markets.
