UZ student turns indigenous oils research into thriving business

Remember Deketeke

A UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE (UZ) doctoral student is leveraging indigenous botanical research to run a thriving enterprise, empowering communities and advancing national development.

Mrs Tendai Makore, who is pursuing studies in nutrition systems, began by analysing two types of oil: one from sedge plants, extracted through distillation; and the other made up of triglycerides.

Triglyceride-based oils are natural fats, like vegetable oils or animal fats. Sedge oils do not contain triglycerides.

This scientific endeavour saw Mrs Makore characterise oils from indigenous sources such as edible insects and mapfura, harvested across diverse regions.

The ambition was clear: to identify natural sources of essential fatty acids capable of improving nutritional outcomes.

Last year, Mrs Makore earned the prestigious Best Woman Innovator award at the Presidential Innovation Fare, which ran under the theme “Beyond the Usual”.

The recognition and prize money enabled her to establish Hatifi Enterprises Limited, also known as Robostos, an indigenous brand.

Starting as a small team, she and two colleagues began working on oil extraction processes, before quickly expanding to 25 employees.

“We have employed pickers from Muzarabani, Binga, Mwenezi and Beitbridge, depending on the season and the botanicals we need to extract,” she said.

“This creates real livelihood opportunities.”

At the core of the company’s success lies baobab oil production.

Mrs Makore described the process in detail. Once ripe, baobab fruit falls and is gathered by community pickers. Kernels are then cracked, dehulled and cold-pressed using a twin screw machine. The oil is filtered, decolourised and subjected to batch analysis.

Samples are sent for certification, locally and in South Africa, a prerequisite for export and meeting international cosmetic standards.

“The cold-pressed oil contains high levels of anti-ageing compounds,” she said.

“After mineralisation and storage, we perform rigorous safety testing, allergen analysis, certificate of analysis; the full works before it is certified and sold.”

These oils form the base of various consumer products: moisturisers, massage oils, body wash products and anti-fungal powders.

“Our lotions, antifungal sprays and massage oils cater specifically to men’s hygiene and well-being,” she said.

“We even produce rejuvenation oils to relieve stress after a long workday.”

Mrs Makore emphasised the innovation’s social impact.

“Eighty percent of our pickers are women. The income they earn helps them pay school fees and uplift their households,” she said. “When women are empowered, communities benefit.”

She highlighted how one woman from Binga suggested the inclusion of moringa, prompting the company to begin exploring its oil and potential product applications.

Robostos has already diversified its product range.

“We extract eucalyptus oil from local gum trees, lemon oil and decongestant blends, something the Covid era awareness brought into focus,” she said.

“We are harnessing what grows in our forests and fields.”

Mrs Makore credits the UZ Innovation Hub and its incubator for vital training in financial literacy, branding, corporate finance and market analysis.

They also facilitated access to supermarkets for pilot sales.

“Education 5.0 taught me to think beyond the research, to make money, solve community problems and contribute to GDP (gross domestic product). I learned how to do financial modelling, calculate breaking-even points and conduct demand-driven production.”

Her US$2 000 prize was invested back into the enterprise, covering packaging and certification, expenses that enabled a 300 percent boost in domestic market share.

“It was not a prize to spend frivolously; it was a launch pad,” she said.

“Certification proved our product claims, anti-inflammatory, anti-ageing and antimicrobial, are scientifically valid.”

Her ambitions stretch far beyond the current success.

Mrs Makore aims to establish multiple processing centres, even mobile plants, in regions like Muzarabani, each branded for local origin and employing 8 000 technical staff by 2030.

“We envision 300 000 farmers and pickers, growing both wild and cultivated Lippia javanica, moringa, mauyu, zirconia and more,” she said.

“Each community-based plant will have a shared trust model involving local councils, ensuring public-private partnership.”

This decentralised model promises to channel foreign exchange earnings via exports and curb import dependency, a strategic reversal of the cosmetic industry trends highlighted in Zimbabwe Revenue Authority reports.

“Why import lotions when we can make halal, certified, export-ready cosmetics here in Zimbabwe?” she said.

“Our market participation does not just uplift rural livelihoods; it strengthens national food, nutrition and economic security.”

From single-crop studies to a brand poised to reshape the rural industry, Mrs Makore’s journey exemplifies the synergy of research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

“This is proof that research, if commercialised, can tackle nutrition, empower marginalised communities, create wealth and transform lives,” she said.