E-Malt.com News article: Africa: Heineken well placed in Africa and Middle East to capture local growth opportunities

According to Mr. Siep Hiemstra, President, Heineken Africa and Middle East, the Dutch brewing giant is well placed in Africa and the Middle East to capture growth opportunities by reaching more consumers through an expanded brand offering, strong market execution, developing local talent and capabilities, and increasing local sourcing, SPY Ghana reported on July 25.

Speaking at Executive Talk programme hosted by China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) African campus on July 24, Mr. Hiemstra also said that through strategic partnerships that are performance driven, Heineken intends to grow further by increasing its market share and also focus on cost discipline to drive profit growth.

A healthy population growth, an emerging middle class and rising urbanization are key growth drivers for beer consumption, according to Mr. Hiemstra. “Africa’s middle class is expected to grow from 355 million in 2010 (34% of Africa’s population) to 1.1 billion (42% of the population) in 2060.” Heineken is set to benefit significantly from this trend through accelerated innovation, building winning brands and activating key enablers of growth. To reach more consumers and to capture fundamental growth opportunities in Africa, Heineken is determined to grow within the continent by investing in local talent, to grow volume, market share and operating profit, he said.

The President of Heineken, Africa and Middle East enumerated some of the things they are doing to grow with the continent. These include developing local sourcing. At the moment he mentioned that 46% of all raw materials used in Africa are sourced from the continent. The goal is to increase that to 60% by 2020.


30 July, 2014