Africa-Press – Eswatini. By expanding its footprint locally and outside the country, Inyatsi Group is contributing to the country’s efforts of pushing for the attainment of First World status.
This was said by Chairperson Michelo Shakantu, when he graced the official opening of the Embiveni Meat Industries (EMI) Plaza in Matsapha yesterday. The EMI, which uses the slogan ‘Siyabusula’ is one of the companies which are under the Inyatsi Group, an entity that has, in recent years, pushed to become Africa’s leading integrated business partner.
Shakantu said the group’s aggressive expansion path, coupled with numerous acquisitions, is one of the ways in which it is keeping up with His Majesty King Mswati III’s vision, of having the Kingdom of Eswatini attain First World status. The chairperson said the group was dedicated to spreading its wings to different sectors something which will boost the country by uplifting the people and contributing to economic growth.
Empower
He said spreading into different sectors will empower different types of people, including small scale farmers. “Investing in entities like the EMI will help small businesses including those in farming as they will now be integrated into the whole value chain. We are also dedicated to growing the export market so that our country can compete with the rest of the world,” he said. Shakantu spent over two hours inside the plaza showing guests and customers around. He was accompanied by the Inyatsi Group management, including Inyatsi Chief Executive Officer-Construction Derrick Shiba and Chief Executive Officer-Investments-Paul Lwindii.
Joining them were members of the royal family, who included Prince Mcwasho and Princess Sibahle. The two emazinyane toured the plaza and appreciated some of the meat products. The event itself saw customers coming in from as early as 7am to take advantage of the festive opening sale.
As they made their way inside the plaza in numbers, one could tell that most of them had Christmas in mind.
Additional
Now and again, the shop attendants and Inyatsi Group managers had to bring in additional trolleys to accommodate the many customers who were buying the meat products in bulk. Some of the items which were on sale included sliced pork, pork belly, Russians of different tastes including chakalaka, wors brisket and traditional meat. As if that was not enough, most of the customers were excited to see that the meat plaza sold sea food items. A variety of sea food items including fish and prawns was available and customers were seen buying in bulk.
By 11am, the queue outside the plaza had become long such that the customers had to be allowed inside in groups to avoid overcrowding inside.
It was noted during the event that customers came from as far as Mozambique to enjoy the festive sale. One of the Mozambican nationals, Amone Juao Luis was spotted walking towards the till with four trolleys of meat. He mentioned that he used to purchase at the old EMI store and was excited to come back this time to find that it has expanded into a big meat plaza.
The bulk of the meat he had purchased was confirmed to be over E3 000 and when quizzed on how he would cross with it to his home country he spoke in jest, saying the distance was just 200 kilometres. Speaking during an interview, EMI Managing Director Phasika Mhlanga emphasised that since the company was focused on meat products, priority was given to local farmers. Mhlanga said they had opened their doors to small scale farmers to supply them. “The opening of the plaza has obviously increased the demand for the meat products. We sell mostly beef, which means that we need to work together with farmers.
Engaging
“The good thing is that this is not the first time that we work with farmers, it has always been the case but now we are engaging more of them,” he said. He said the company will do all in its power to create a good relationship with the farmers who supply them. “We will not necessarily wait for the farmers to come to us, but we will visit them and give them assurance of an available market because that is what they need. The opening today defines the growth of the local market since we also export some of our products,” he said. Mhlanga also emphasized that they will continue to be quality specialists by ensuring food safety as they believed in promoting good health for their customers.
“We have a duty to comply with international standards and this is important since we export to various countries. “Our clients and customers can rest assured that they will always get quality products from us,” he said. With a strong focus on producing high-quality beef products, EMI has established itself as a prominent player in the local market and has expanded its operations to include exporting to Europe.
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