Yesterday I participated in a press conference to mark Diageo’s purchase of the Meta Abo brewery from the Government of Ethiopia. With a mountain forming the backdrop and its own waterfall, this has to be one of the most beautiful settings for a brewery anywhere in the world.
This is Britain’s largest ever single investment in Ethiopia and the first here by a FTSE 100 company. It is also a great example of both governments and a private sector company working closely together to achieve success. And it is a winning combination of local knowledge from an iconic Ethiopian brand and international expertise from the world’s leading premium drinks company. More than that, Diageo will bring its track record of ethical business, good governance, diversity, transparency and sustainability to the deal – including clean water projects that benefit a million Africans annually.
I hope that other UK companies operating in appropriate sectors will witness the success of Diageo and other British companies doing business here and come and take a look at Africa’s second most populous market – one that has had enviable growth rates for the past few years. Our next big commercial event will be the UK Education Exhibition and Conference in Addis Ababa on 22-24 March.