In a bid to enhance access to clean, potable, fresh and safe water to the public for all purposes and intents, a local mineral water production company Aquamist Beverages, has invested heavily in the infrastructural development of the product for domestic, commercial and industrial use. The company commenced operations in October 2015 and is based in the Prospect Industrial Area in Waterfalls in t
he capital, Harare, about 15 km from the central business district (CBD). The organization is informed by the local regional and global delivery systems of water as a safe and daily requirement in the lives of people for their survival. Company founder and Chief Executive Officer Mrs Mathilda Dzumbunu (BAcc, FCMA, FCIS, MBA) said in an interview with Star FM Zimbabwe:" My vision is to grow the Aquamist brand to become the preferred bottled water of choice to the majority of Zimbabweans. We are in the small to medium enterprises (SMEs) sector and have participated at various expos to showcase our products and the market response is encouraging. We remain purpose driven with the intention of making a significant contribution to the development of our country." The company's operations continue to meet all the legal requirements as a law abiding corporate body. Aquamist Beverages P/L is a fully registered Zimbabwean company subscribing to statutory and legal requirements. Dzumbunu continued:" We are Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) certified, registered with the Food and Food Standards Association and have our Factory and City of Harare licenses in place." All this is to ensure that there are no inconveniences to the public and other stakeholders as long as operations are underway. To protect our intellectual property, we ensured that Aquamist Beverages becomes a Registered Trademark under the Trades Association of Zimbabwe. With all these investments in place, the company has a very big potential to grow its operations but is not currently operating at full capacity due to the prevailing economic challenges. Development Partners can take advantage of the vast potential presented by the Aquamist brand to operationalise the underutilized gap for a win-win outcome. A public or private partnership can be mutually beneficial in this regard. Development partners such as the United Nations (UN), the Red Cross and other international organizations have placed access to clean water and sanitation at the top on their priorities list under Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to transform the world by the year 2030. It is against this background that Aquamist Beverages is committed to play its role in the improved provision of clean, fresh, safe potable water to both rural and urban communities. These communities include but are not limited to companies, individuals, government entities and international partners in all industries for the development and support of their programs. There is no small or big partner or client, but each client is treated with the same underlying good corporate governance and service delivery ethics. Currently, the company has remained operating when others have scaled down operations or closed shop due to a number of reasons, chief among them financial constraints, lack of good corporate governance and systems short-comings. Besides investment in physical and technical infrastructure, Aquamist Beverages has made it a policy to train and refresh its employees in technological advancement in water purification and related issues to keep them abreast of the real situation obtaining on the ground so that there are no development breaks. The company has also expanded its product lines to include 500ml, 750ml, 2L, 5L and 18.5L refills. We also produce dairy fruit juice and ready-to-drink fruit juices, and every product can be personalized for weddings, graduations, and corporate events. The introduction of Statutory Instrument (SI) 64 of 2016 to protect the local industry, and strides made in the Ease of Doing Business, means SMEs like Aquamist Beverages who have gone formal will begin to make a significant contribution to the ZimAsset goals of the Nation. What is required to spur the growth of the company is access to domestic and export markets, financial instruments at affordable interest rates and local business support.
