The Sunday News
Senior Business Reporter
THE flagship of Anointed Group of Companies — food services equipment manufacturer and supplier Cater Commercial Equipment — has set its sights on exploring the regional market following a survey indicating high demand for its products.Cater Commercial Equipment managing director, Mr Gary Mushambavanhu, said the company was considering opening branches in Malawi, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo after results from a market survey carried out last year revealed potential lucrative business opportunities in these countries.
The company was established in 2010 and has branches in Harare and Bulawayo with agents in Gweru, Mutare and Masvingo.
Anointed Group of Companies also runs a property concern as well as a catering and hospitality entity, with two upmarket food courts at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe while another one is located in the resort destination of Kariba.
“Last year we had resolved to open branches in Malawi, Zambia and the DRC. However, we were forced to shelve the idea due to unyielding political occurrences in those countries.
“We do exports to Zambia and on a few instances we sell to Botswana. In business you don’t have to invest into a new market at a time when the political situation is unstable because all your investment will go down the drain,” Mr Mushambavanhu said.
The three (Malawi, Zambia and DRC) countries held their elections early this year.
Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA) investment officer, Mr Sichoni Takiloza, said political instability was perceived as a risk by business hence most investors preferred investing in a country where they would get value for their investment.
“Political risk is one of the risks whereby a company which intends to set up shop in another country can decide not to. Though we have companies servicing other countries through exports or having a distribution centre we don’t have a presence there.
“However, when one wants to offer services in a certain country they will have to consider political risks that cut right across and the worst being international war and the other being civil wars,” Mr Takiloza said.
He said in most instances, it was up to individual investors to perceive a certain country an investment risk.
“Any investor can shy away from investing if he or she feels a situation can affect the value of his or her investment and fail to get any meaningful return from it. However, you have a situation whereby countries like the USA say Zimbabwe is an investment risk while China doesn’t perceive it as a risk. So this company has looked at the political situations in the countries of concern and decided they can turn back to invest there,” Mr Takiloza said.
Cater Commercial Equipment manufactures a wide range of refrigeration, catering, supermarket, butchery and bakery equipment.
“Locally we are the only company which offers a wide range of equipment in the food services sector. Others only concentrate on a particular industry and our major competitor is Mac Brothers from South Africa but it only deals more in catering equipment of which we also have an edge over them due to issues to do with our proximity to the clients with the South African company taking long to deliver orders,” Mr Mushambavanhu said.
The company obtains most of its raw materials locally while it imports some from South Africa. It also imports frost and rust free refrigerator components from China.
However, Mr Mushambavanhu bemoaned the delay in starting operations at New Zimsteel as having a negative impact in ensuring there was quality iron and steel products in the market.
“Due to the effects of liquidity crisis the market is not consuming much, our consumer debt is over $300 000. The volume of sales is very low. We have to come up with terms of payment for our clients because most of the equipment we sell is big and of upmarket nature but still most of them are struggling to pay,” said Mr Mushambavanhu.
