KSh 15B EABL Brewery in Kisumu to Create 110,000 Jobs

By Amina Faki

East African Breweries Limited (EABL.NR) plans to open a new brewery  plant in Kisumu at a cost of Kshs.15 billion.

The move was well received by the Head of State President Uhuru Kenyatta saying that the move will empower farmers and help many transit to agribusiness.

“Many of us rely on subsistence agriculture to earn a living. But our farming will only remain viable only if we move from subsistence production to agribusiness. If we do this right, we will see a significant multiplier effect: creating employment, raising rural incomes, increasing food security, boosting exports and eventually growing the economy,” said the president.

Through the president’s long list of achievement on job creation opportunities, he mentioned that Kisumu is next in line to receive record breaking new investment that will change the lives of farmers and many young people.

In a statement when he met with Diageo Global chief executive Ivan Menezes, the president said that the investment valued at 15 billion Kenya shillings will result in a modern, state-of-the-art brewery which will see more jobs being created.

According to President Uhuru Kenyatta the new plant has the potential to create 110, 000 jobs. The Head of State says the plant has already been planned, adding that 30,000 farmers in Kisumu, Siaya, Homabay, Migori, TharakaNithi and Makueni have been engaged by EABL to grow sorghum.

“Our projection is that the new plant will increase the number of contracted farmers from 30,000 to 45, 000 and increase utilization of irrigation by our small scale farmers, 110,000 quality jobs will be created,” said the President during the briefing.

He also encouraged farmers to take advantage of the new plant and be part of East Africa Breweries Limited success stories.

Early this year the Treasury introduced 80 percent remission for beers made from sorghum, millet and cassava.

Mr. Menezes said, “This investment in a new brewery for Senator Keg underlines our long-standing commitment to Kenya. This announcement now brings our incremental capital investment to Kshs 30 billion over the last five years and further deepens our relationship with Kenya which has now spanned 95 years.

Once complete, this new brewery will increase the production capacity of the now iconic Senator Keg, which will in turn provide socio-economic benefits, including helping to reduce the consumption of illicit brews.”

The Kisumu facility, on which the new one will stand, started operations in 1984 but was closed in 2002 due to improvements in beer-production technology that helped create excess capacity in beer production at the Nairobi brewery.

The re-opening will help plug fresh demand for Senator, a hugely successful beer product launched in 2004, targeted at the low-end of the market. EABL has developed a robust value chain supporting Senator’s production, and the latest investment will expand the number of contracted farmers from the current 30,000 to 45,000.

The Nyanza region climate is among the most conducive for sorghum and millet production and the proximity to the plant will further benefit the local farmers more. Gross additional farmer earnings are expected to reach over Kshs. 6 billion annually over the next 10 years boosting rural economies.