When we think of cigars, we inevitably think of Cuba or the Dominican Republic and figures such as Churchill, Fidel or Hitchcock, inseparable in the portraits they left of the cigar smoking. These are collective portraits of a whole imaginary built up over the years that have little, if anything, to do with Africa.
However, it’s never too late to draw new memories. And this luxury product, which we usually associate with Central America where, according to mythology, it is rolled by hand between the thighs of an old Cuban woman, has now started to be produced in Maputo, in the downtown area, halfway along Avenida 25 de Setembro.
This is where Bongani Cigars have been rolled since 2016, a premium Mozambican product that is currently sold in more than 200 points of sale across the country (in nightclubs, liquor stores, hotels, luxury lodges, airports) and abroad, with a presence in South Africa, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Switzerland and the United States. It was even sold in Kenya, but the brand abandoned the market because it was too bureaucratic and expensive.
Bongani, a word that means “to be grateful” in Zulu, was born out of the curiosity and fun of Kamal Moukheiber, a former British investment banker. As Kamal says, “a lot of good coincidences happened and there were signs of the potential of this business right from the start, so much so that I made it my full-time job.”
Kamal explains that Bongani’s success didn’t come about by coincidence. “Cigars are, in many cases, for people who like to look like successful people and there is this association between cigars and success. This makes the markets with the greatest financial power our main targets.
“It’s the first cigar made in Africa, a luxury, quality product made here. That’s something that can’t be beaten by the competition, because people are interested in trying African products.”
Then there’s the factor that it’s the first cigar made in Africa, a luxury, quality product, made here, and that’s something unbeatable by the competition, because people are interested in trying African products, they don’t just want to consume products imported from elsewhere.”
“It makes a lot of sense” to have local production
But how do you make a Mozambican cigar? “In essence, we use a mixture of domestic and imported tobacco leaves. The leaf used to roll the cigar comes from Cameroon, which already supplies some of the best Cuban cigars, and the Dominican Republic. The wooden box, made of sandalwood, is made in China.
The work is entirely manual and 100 per cent national. It takes almost a year for someone to be ready to roll cigars of the required quality,” says Kamal and adds that “Africa, and Mozambique more specifically, has been producing top quality tobacco for a long time. It makes a lot of sense to develop the skills locally and have production in Mozambique, rather than sending the raw material elsewhere.”
With the covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions it has imposed, Bongani Cigars has had some constraints. “Our supply chain became very difficult and expensive, business slowed down and we had periods when we closed down completely.
However, we never missed a pay cheque and managed to have a stronger team and business,” he says. In recent years, Bongani has strengthened its presence in the market, with the vision of creating high-quality products (exclusively cigars) in Africa, which require highly skilled labour, and exporting throughout the continent, based on the local market. “Currently, the cigar market in Mozambique is very active and there are many aficionados. Bongani’s next step is to strengthen its presence in mature markets such as Switzerland and the USA,” he finalised.
