SAB to invest R4.5bn to boost job creation

When it comes to growing the country’s economy, SA Breweries (SAB) – a subsidiary of AB InBev – has proven not to pay lip service.

This follows making a pledge of R4.5 billion in investment during the recent fourth SA investment conference (SAIC), with spin-offs destined to rejuvenate the ailing township economy.

The company this week marked the visit to South Africa by AB InBev global chief executive officer (CEO) Michel Doukeris and SAB CEO Richard Rivett-Carnac, engaging President Cyril Ramaphosa and assuring him that the pledge made at SAIC would be in support of economic growth and sustainability efforts in South Africa and across the continent.

With the alcohol industry value chain contributing about R75 billion to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP), Rivett-Carnac said SAB has already begun with the expansion of the breweries “and we will realise the full investment in four years”.

The SAB 2022 pledge included:

A planned capital expenditure investment of R573 million in Africa;

A total of R1.9 billion towards returnable packaging – enabling SAB to continue transforming the industry by employing black suppliers;

Over R8.2 million towards SAB’s Prospecton Brewery in KwaZulu-Natal’s Durban in support of job creation across the value chain – increasing tax revenues and additional GDP for the domestic economy; and

A total of R510 million towards upgrading SAB’s Ibhayi Brewery in the Eastern Cape, to support job creation.

Rivett-Carnac said: “Over the past five years, we have invested in transforming our supply chain to not only source close to 95% of our raw materials locally, but also transform our supplier base.

“Through the SAB Thrive Fund, we have invested more than R200 million in supplier development to drive our local sourcing programme by transforming and growing our suppliers.

“We sustained and helped transform the local glass manufacturing sector through our support of Isanti Glass’s acquisition of Nampak glass.”

Reflecting on his SA visit, Doukeris said public-private partnerships were “critical to supporting national and continental economic objectives”.

Beer, said Doukeris, was “generally produced locally, distributed locally and consumed locally – making our industry uniquely positioned to provide higher direct economic benefits to support communities and economies around the world, and right here in Africa”.

Township economy revitalisation, partnership opportunities on investment into Gauteng and exports, have also topped a meeting between premier David Makhura and the company top brass.

We have invested over R200m in supplier development