By KENNEDY MUPESENI –
A local beverage processing firm is scouting for K1 million to grow capacity to meet the demand of its products.
Wanzana Processing Limited was initially funded by the Citizen Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) with K150, 000.
Company operations manager Michael Mondoloka said his firm required an additional K1million to meet the current demand of squash juices.
•Workers at Wanzana Processing Company in Lusaka processing drinks, this was when officers from the Citizen Economic Empowerment Commission (not in picture) visited the plant to assess how recipients of loans are operating. Picture by KENNEDY MUPESENI
“Currently we are producing about 4000 cases of squash but the demand has gone up to about 10,000 cases hence the need to find other sources of funding,” he said.
This was as a result of links the CEEC was providing to its clients with chain-stores in the country.
So far the company was supplying its product to Melisa and Pick n Pay Supermarkets which had helped boost production.
The company was registered in 2007 but was grappling with lack of capital to further increase its production capacity.
“The money we got from the CEEC was used to buy a light truck and tanks to increase the production capacity but ever since, demand for our product has increased beyond expectation,” he said.
Mr Mondoloka said when CEEC officials visited the plant in Lusaka’s industrial area that the loan and links had helped the company grow from producing 320 cases to 4000 per month.
CEEC public relations manager Glenda Masebe said the industrialization and cluster programme was helping to transform the country’s economy.
