Last Tuesday’s long read (Has Heineken broken its promise in Africa?, 12 February) and the book behind the article make a number of allegations concerning our operations in Africa. We do not agree with the majority of these claims, which refer to events that allegedly happened many years or even several decades ago, but that are presented as if they are ongoing issues. Like any large company there are occasions where we make mistakes. However, when we become aware of issues we need to address, we take clear and decisive steps to improve our business practices.
For example, when an allegation was raised regarding the safety and working conditions of brand promoters working on our behalf in Africa, we took it seriously. With the input of brand promoters and NGOs we created a new brand promoter policy that we implemented in all our markets. As the majority of brand promoters are hired by agencies and work for many brands, we worked closely with other companies to drive a wider industry change. As a result, several of our peers have also published new brand promoter policies. We made the result of our work publicly available.
Africa is an important part of Heineken’s history. We’ve been in Africa for over 100 years, operate in 21 countries and employ 13,500 people. In times when other companies were leaving the continent, we have continued to invest. In the last 10 years alone, we invested over €3bn. The author claims Heineken profits disproportionately from Africa, making more money per beer here than elsewhere. This allegation is incorrect as can be seen in our annual reports.
We learn a lot from Africa and our aim in Africa, as elsewhere, is to make a positive impact.
John-Paul Schuirink
Director, Global Communication, Global Corporate Affairs, Heineken
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