Enterprise development

Performance

Farming Better Futures

In Africa, India and Latin America, our Farming Better Futures programme is generating inclusive growth by encouraging the local sourcing of agricultural raw materials from smallholder and commercial farmers. Depending on local needs, the programme also extends to water management initiatives and HIV/Aids testing and treatment for farmers.

We currently work with 32,499 smallholder farmers - about 4,000 more than last year due to the inclusion of our work with Zimbabwean farmers for the first time. We intend to continue to grow our local sourcing programmes, for example, in India we aim to source all our barley from local producers within the next five years.

Our local sourcing programmes also support direct farming jobs. For example, in Africa research by Professor Ethan Kapstein of INSEAD, and other experts, indicates that SABMiller's commitment to increasing the local sourcing of raw materials to 50% over the next two years will raise the number of direct farming jobs supported by our operations from about 100,000 today to 150,000.

In Zambia, the drive for inclusive growth has involved working with local brokers and commercial farmers to develop a local barley industry. Three years ago we had to import all the barley needed in our Zambian operations. In 2012, Zambian Breweries plc worked with 21 local commercial farmers. As a result, over 4,000 rural workers now have a regular income for themselves and their families.

Encouraging entrepreneurship

Beyond our breweries, the distribution and sale of our products support thousands more livelihoods. For example, in South Africa we've helped over 550 independent drivers to buy the trucks to deliver our products. In Europe, a recent study by Ernst & Young PDF (3.92Mb) found that a total of 202,000 jobs can be attributed to the production and sale of our beers - including over 98,000 in the hospitality sector alone. For each person employed by SABMiller in Europe, 17 jobs are generated outside the brewing industry.

This year, we have invested US$ 4.7 million in programmes to support entrepreneurs around the world, awarding grants to over 100 businesses and providing training to more than 1,000 entrepreneurs.

For example, in Colombia, Peru and other parts of Latin America, we provide access to credit for shopkeepers to help strengthen their businesses and increase their revenues, so improving their quality of life and that of their families. In Colombia through this programme, more than 4,000 shopkeepers have benefited in two years with US$ 6 million made available in micro-credit financing.