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Agence France-Presse

In a small, neon-lit factory in Maputo, southern Africa, a dozen workers are hand-rolling premium cigars intended for the global market, seemingly undisturbed by the pungent tobacco smell.
Sitting at wooden benches, men and women stack tobacco leaves in one hand – the components must be dry but soft, like the velvety texture of leather.
A large wrapper leaf made in Cameroon, west Africa, and recognisable by its delicate finish is torn in half before being rolled around the cigar, its last layer.
“Not many people know about African cigars” and that some are produced in Mozambique, says Eugenia Mauaie, with a proud smile. The 38-year-old has been working at Bongani Cigars since the company was founded eight years ago.

The tobacco is mainly produced in Mozambique, but for some products it comes from the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, a key producer for cigar aficionados.
Anthony Padilla Perez, who runs the workshop, grew up in the Caribbean nation in a family of tobacco producers.
“Each leaf has a function: its burning quality, its strength and its smell,” says the 38-year-old, sporting a shaved head and trimmed goatee.
I was with some friends and I saw people smoking cigars. And I wondered: why are there no African cigars?
Kamal Moukheiber, founder of Bongani Cigars
Once the tobacco is rolled and a wrapper applied, a worker cuts each end of the cigar to the required size and places it in a mould for at least 24 hours to get the desired shape.
The last step is finishing the tip, which is made round with small pieces of tobacco cut and stuck together with a drop of vegetable gum.
“There was a gap to fill here in Mozambique, where the climate and soil are great for quality tobacco production,” Perez says.

An African cigar “surprises consumers”, he says, and “makes people curious” about the brand, the name of which translates to “be grateful” in Zulu.
The founder, Kamal Moukheiber, got the idea “probably one drunken night”, he joked, in a cafe in Maputo where he was on a business visit.
“I was with some friends and I saw people smoking cigars. And I wondered: why are there no African cigars?”

“Often, raw materials are produced in Africa and shipped elsewhere to be repackaged and rebranded,” says Moukheiber, like coffee or chocolate, depriving the continent of much needed resources.
The 55-year-old from Lebanon, who used to work in finance in London and had “never produced anything”, launched the company after thorough research, to try something new.
His first Bongani cigars were sold in a shop in Mozambique in 2016. He now employs a dozen people and manufactures 10,000 to 12,000 cigars per month.

About a third of the cigars are shipped across Africa, with Mozambique and South Africa its largest markets, but they are also available online.
Another third are sold in the United States and the last third in Europe, where they are popular among black consumers, Moukheiber says.
Priced at US$13 apiece, each model has to be perfectly crafted, “otherwise you don’t have a business”, says the entrepreneur, who travels the world to market his brand in a competitive industry.


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Africa

Premium cigars from Africa? Why not? The tobacco grows there already

A Mozambican man rolls a cigar at the Bongani Cigars workshop in Maputo. The company, which sells its premium cigars in Africa, the United States and Europe, was started after its owner wondered why African cigars didn’t exist. Photo: AFP

Mozambican cigar rollers, also known as “torcedores”, assemble cigars at the Bongani Cigars workshop in Maputo, Mozambique. Photo: AFP

Bongani Cigars owner Anthony Padilla Perez in the workshop’s storage area. Photo: AFP

Perez says the idea of African cigars “surprises people”. Photo: AFP

Since 2016, Moukheiber’s cigar company has grown to employ a dozen people, who produce up to 12, 000 cigars a month. Photo:  AFP

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Madagascan women build a model ship at Le Village in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Photo: AP

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Loveness Bhitoni carries baobab fruit harvested from trees in Mudzi, Zimbabwe. Demand for the fruit, which is packed with healthy properties, is growing worldwide, but its harvesters are living on the poverty line. Photo: AP

Loveness Bhitoni wakes up before dawn to harvest baobab fruit in Mudzi district, Zimbabwe. Photo: AP

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Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

Cigars made in Mozambique may sound surprising, but Bongani Cigars rolls thousands a day. Its founder talks filling a gap in the market


Cigars made in Mozambique may sound surprising, but Bongani Cigars rolls thousands a day. Its founder talks filling a gap in the market.


How luxury is made