Gaborone Condom Plant Starts Selling Next Year

THATO CHWAANE
Staff Writer | Monday November 19, 2007 00:00

The managing director of Latex Medical Products Mike Proctor said on Friday that their plant has a capacity to churn out 200,000 condoms a day for local and regional consumption. He told journalists, during a media tour of the plant at Gaborone West Industrial, that they aim to penetrate the regional market that requires 1.5 billion condoms a year. The company aims to eventually penetrate markets beyond the region with its Monate brand.

Currently, Proctor said they are processing licences and doing product tests to make sure they meet the standards. He said his company will satisfy local demand and there will be 'no more running out of condoms'. In the long run, the company intends to introduce different shapes, sizes and flavours of condoms to make sex interesting. This is to make sure that a condom is not a tool 'that gets in the way'. Proctor said it is time to move away from one-size fits all.

Finance manager Pido Siwawa said they want to supply government, supermarkets, wholesalers, retailers and other distributors.

The P8 million-plus project is a joint venture between two citizens and the CEDA Venture Capital Fund. Equipment for the plant cost about P5 million.