Betterbrands Biography

Background

Betterbrands Investments was founded by Mr. Pedzai Sakupwanya, who currently serves as the company's Chairman. The company has been operating for over a decade. Originally starting as a smaller enterprise, Betterbrands expanded into a large, diversified conglomerate operating across multiple economic sectors, including gold trading and refining, construction, drilling, energy, logistics, and equipment leasing.

Today, the organization employs a workforce of hundreds of people. Sakupwanya, who is also a Member of Parliament in Zimbabwe, built the business largely by integrating artisanal and small-scale mining operations into the formal national economy. The company has also announced intentions to expand its business operations internationally to replicate its current model in new markets.

Operations and Infrastructure Initiatives

Betterbrands is primarily recognized for its role in the precious metals market, particularly in gold trading and refining in Zimbabwe. Operating as a major licensed gold buyer, the company leverages a massive network of artisanal and small-scale miners across Zimbabwe. Betterbrands is said to be the largest contributor of gold to Fidelity Refineries, the government-owned gold depository. In 2024, the company was credited with facilitating the delivery of nearly 15.9 tonnes of gold to the national refinery, valued at approximately $1.5 billion.

The company has diversified its portfolio to participate in various national infrastructure and development projects:

• Energy Sector: Betterbrands supplies fuel products for industrial and household use to meet national energy demands. The company is also in the advanced stages of rolling out clean energy offerings, specifically solar products.
• Borehole Drilling and Agriculture: Under the Presidential Borehole Drilling Scheme, the company establishes Village Business Units (VBUs) throughout the country. These units provide essential community water resources and support horticultural farming through the integration of solar pumps and drip irrigation.
• Construction: The company's construction arm tackles housing shortages and develops sporting facilities in alignment with Zimbabwe's National Development Strategy (NDS1).

Redwing Mine Operations and Safety Concerns

While Betterbrands represents a significant portion of Zimbabwe's gold output, its methods have been a subject of intense public scrutiny. Around 2021, the company's mining subsidiary, Betterbrands Mining, took control of operations at the Redwing Mine in Penhalonga during a corporate rescue process. This move was initially met with resistance from local mine workers and creditors, who protested the opaque nature of the agreements and the displacement of previous local mining partners.

Under Betterbrands' management, formal underground mining at Redwing was largely replaced by decentralized artisanal mining. The company allocates mining pits to middlemen or "sponsors," who in turn hire untrained artisanal miners. This setup has led to widespread safety concerns. Independent rescue reports and civil society organizations have documented numerous fatal accidents at the site, primarily caused by mine shaft collapses and gas exposure in unventilated pits. In response to the high number of fatalities, the Zimbabwean government temporarily shut down operations at the mine in early 2023 and again in 2024, though reports indicate that artisanal mining operations frequently resumed despite these orders.

Environmental Impact

Betterbrands' heavy reliance on artisanal gold mining syndicates has also resulted in severe environmental consequences in the regions where it operates. Environmental watchdog groups, including the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), have heavily criticized the company for enabling unregulated mining practices that cause acute land degradation and widespread deforestation.

In the Penhalonga area, open mining pits are frequently abandoned after the gold is exhausted, leaving behind hazardous landscapes. Furthermore, the artisanal processing methods linked to Betterbrands' milling operations heavily utilize toxic compounds like mercury and cyanide to separate gold from ore. Environmental testing has shown that these chemicals have polluted local water bodies, including the Mutare River and Lake Alexander, contaminating domestic water supplies and posing severe health risks to nearby communities and agricultural developments.