Our priorities in action

White Bull Lager is the flagship product of Southern Sudan Beverages Ltd (SSBL) – the first brewery in Southern Sudan for 50 years. The brewery is the only local manufacturing plant in the city of Juba, and produces one of the few new formal consumer beer brands.

SSBL commissioned its brewery in South Sudan in 2009 and invested US$37m to build the facility in Juba. To date, its operations in the region have created employment for 200 Sudanese. Its pioneering land lease agreement ensures that the local community receives royalties from the development and benefits from the business’ continued success. SSBL, through SABMiller, is one of the largest private sector contributors to the South Sudanese economy, paying excise tax at both national and state level.

In 2010 SABMiller won nearly US$1 million funding from the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) to introduce an innovative local sourcing model for cassava, which will provide the ingredients from which a new beer will be brewed. SABMiller is partnering with leading NGO, FARM-Africa, to implement the initiative, which will bring direct and significant long-term market opportunities for around 2,000 smallholder farmers with dependants and other employment effects ensuring approximately 15,600 people could benefit in three years.

In April 2011, SSBL announced that it would investing an additional US$15 million in its operations in Southern Sudan to increase production capacity and build on the strong performance of its local brand portfolio.

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