Cigars from Zimbabwe for UAE

Cigars from Zimbabwe for UAE. Last week we received a tip from a cigar importer and distributor in the United Arab Emirates, HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Faisal Al Qassimi Private Limited Dubai. They told us that they recently started importing a new brand and that the news could be interesting for us. And it turns out to be, as we never heard of Mosi Oa Tunya cigars but the story is very interesting.

Zimbabwe

We know that there is tobacco grown in Africa. Cameroon, world-class tobacco, is still around thanks to the dedication of cigar industry legend Richard Meerapfel. It is an expensive wrapper, but one of the best wrappers available with its. And we know about Bongani cigars from Mozambique. But cigars from Zimbabwe, with tobacco from the Southern African country? That was news to us.

But Mosi Oa Tunya Cigars rolls cigars in Harare, Zimbabwe. And with binder and filler from Zimbabwe itself. The wrapper comes from the Caribbean and Indonesia. There is a cigar with a Dominican Habano wrapper, but there are also cigars with Ecuadorian Sumatra. The mild, small cigars feature a wrapper from Java, Indonesia. There’s also a barber pole with both the Sumatra and Habano wrapper.

Mosi Oa Tunya 

Mosi-Oa-Tunya Cigars embraces the myth and the legend of the mighty Victoria Falls, one of the seven wonders of the world on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. Mosi Oa Tunya means ‘the smoke that thunders’ and is the indigenous name for Victoria Falls.

The brand was founded in 2019. A casual conversation across oceans between Shep Mafundikwa, then recently retired, and Loy Veal about Zimbabwe’s quality tobacco and the iconic falls stirred something in both of them. Right at that moment, a seed to set up the first-hand rolled cigar company in Zimbabwe was planted. After living and working in the United States for 15 years Shep accompanied by Loy returned to Zimbabwe to set up the first hand-rolled cigar factory in Zimbabwe. To learn about the cigar industry he traveled to Cuba and the Dominican Republic touring cigar factories and identifying expert talent.

Female empowerment

Mosi Oa Tunya is a women empowerment project with an all-women team of cigar rollers. The company embraces the elevation of livelihoods recognizing that women play a pivotal role in socio-economic growth at both micro and macro levels. And they hope that by making cigars in Zimbabwe, the local tobacco industry finds another source for growth and income by exporting these luxurious cigars.