Mosi oa Tunya Cigars operates from Harare and one of its main objectives is to add value to tobacco -- one of Zimbabwe's biggest foreign currency earners -- and cultivate export markets.

Shep Mafundikwa, the Mosi oa Tunya Cigars CEO, said his company employed seven women after people who initially helped him to set up the project left prematurely.

Mafundikwa said his project was mooted to tap into the abundant supplies of flue-cured tobacco in the country.

Mafundikwa said his company was yet to come up with distribution strategies, but said they were targeting both the local and international markets.

Mafundikwa said after the ongoing lockdown, his company would hold roadshows to educate Zimbabweans about cigars and dispel myths that they are only for the affluent.