We have a large part of our business, our history and our pride invested in the African continent. Castle, Kilimanjaro, Mosi, 2M, Eagle, St Louis, Chairman’s ESB, Castle Milk Stout, Rhino and Nile Special are just some of our brands which have become household names throughout Africa.
Today, over 100 years after the South African Breweries Ltd, our original brewing company, was founded in Johannesburg, we are a thriving African-originated multinational with a brewing presence in almost 50 countries across five continents and a portfolio of strong brands and leading market shares in many of the countries in which we have brewing operations.
2005 has become a critical year for development. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Commission for Africa, the G8 Summit at Gleneagles and the United Nations’ review of the Millennium Development Goals have combined to make Africa, along with climate change, one of the top issues on the global agenda. This has caused many multinational companies, ourselves included, to look more closely at how we can most effectively contribute to development.
This report is based on a day in the life of our company’s operations in Africa. We have chosen 19 May 2005, the day our preliminary results were announced. We show how – by virtue of our day-to-day business activities, profitability, corporate social investment, and responsible and accountable behaviour – the company has contributed to economic growth, created jobs and provided some life-changing opportunities for people living in the countries in which we operate. Some of these people are our employees, others are in our supply and distribution chains, some work in businesses that have grown through our corporate social investment projects, and still others are people
who have benefited from our HIV/Aids programmes.
But none of these people would have benefited unless our business had performed well. It is our performance that has enabled us to make a sustained contribution to the health and prosperity of African people, their local communities and the economies in which they work.
Download the Africa Report