Local firm courts SA, Egyptian companies
BUSINESS WRITER
A diversified local firm, Raleo Trading and Projects has engaged a South African entity and an Egyptian company to increase capacity and search for international market as the entity seeks foreign currency to sustain local operations, Business Times can report.
A multi-disciplined organisation with interests in retail management, manufacturing of tile adhesive, manufacturing of paint and production of mealie meal, Raleo has courted Sakhile Ezweni Group of Companies in South Africa for detergents marketing and Egyptian’s Ecat Company which specialises in paints.
Raleo co-founder and director Cleopas Mawarire told Business Times that the current macro-economic challenges have forced the company to go international to earn forex which would help to expand local footprint.
“Raleo has engaged a lot of both local and regional companies with a view of partnering either going forward to the market or backwards to production. So far, we have successfully engaged Sakhile Ezweni Group of Companies in South Africa for the market of cleaning products and an Egyptian company called Ecat Company for the source of world class paint concentrate of the tag Primocat,” Mawarire said.
The company has already signed Memorandum of Understanding with the two companies.
He said the company will invest an estimated US$2m in the next five years with a view to create employment of around 200 people both production and administration staff.
The Waterfalls-based firm has a factory and distribution point in Harare and does deliveries across the country using distribution trucks.
Raleo plans to move production to the outskirts to cut on distribution cost and maintain reasonably low prices that will give the company a competitive edge.
Mawarire said on average the company manufactures 6000 by 20kgs of tile adhesive per month while detergents of various forms amounts to above 200 litres per month.
