September 27, 2015

The African beer market is booming. In March of this year, a new report issued by Canadean stated that Africa is the fastest growing beer market in the world with an annual growth rate of 5% between 2013 and 2017 – surpassing both Asia and Latin America, which are expected to see growth rates of 4% and 3%, respectively, over the same period.

“Africa has seen inflation fall, foreign debt shrink and GDP rise in the last few years. Moreover, population growth – once feared as a major contributor to poverty – is now perceived as an asset, with the working age population set to outgrow that of China and India,” states Kevin Baker, Account Director at Canadean.

In the same month, SABMiller, the world’s second biggest brewer, announced its plans to dominate the nascent market on the continent by capping prices at $1 per beer and leveraging the market’s vast population and consumption gap to generate massive sales volumes. Toward this end, the brewing giant has completed a $100 million expansion project at its brewery in Ghana that will double its production capacity, and is also investing millions to expand output and gain market share in Zambia, Nigeria, and other markets.

Most recently, Heineken has announced it is launching a $172 million joint venture with CFAO, an Africa-focused distributor, to produce and market beer in Ivory Coast under the name Brassivoire.

Heineken will hold a 51% stake in the new venture, while CFAO will hold the remaining 49%. The new brewery will have an annual production capacity of 1.6 million hectoliters, and production at the facility is expected to go online at the beginning of 2017. Brassivoire will be seeking to locally source the raw agricultural materials for its plant, and has a goal of sourcing 60% from Africa by 2020.