Youth entrepreneur of the Week

Marlvin Chieza (pictured) is the founder and head cider maker at Nyanga Craft Ciders. The company started making beverages in 2016, but officially registered and started selling its products in 2019. It processes fruits from Manicaland into various products — including ciders, wines, liquor and juices.

Though Chieza has a food science background, he is among the few certified cider makers in Zimbabwe.

His passion for cider making began when he started doing it for personal consumption.

According to Chieza, the delicate taste he wanted was not available in mass-produced ciders, and this drove him to start his own beverage.

Apart from that, there are a lot of fruits in Manicaland and most of them are lost after harvest due to lack of a market or proper storage facilities.

Nyanga Craft Ciders has successfully made the first fruit ciders in Zimbabwe and boasts making the only apple jack on the continent, which is, a premium liquor from apples.