Heineken opens first brewery in Mozambique after $100m spend

Heineken has invested $100 million to build its first brewery in Mozambique.

Located in the district of Maputo, the site produces four international brands – Heineken, Amstel, Sagres and Strongbow – as well as Txilar, a new beer made for the Mozambican market from maize grown in the country.

President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi attended the inauguration alongside Heineken CEO Jean-François van Boxmeer.

Heineken CEO Jean-François van Boxmeer.

“We believe in Mozambique,” said van Boxmeer. “The population is young and vibrant, the middle class is growing and living increasingly in cities, the economic perspectives are encouraging and the beer market has a great potential to grow. The construction of Heineken’s first brewery is a major step for the company’s presence in the country.”

Heineken drew attention to the “encouraging” socio-economic situation in Mozambique, which enjoyed GDP growth of 3.5% in 2018.

The world’s second largest beer maker started its activities in the country in late 2016 through a sales and marketing office. It now employs around 200 people in the country.

When the new facility was first announced in 2017, Boudewijn Haarsma, Heineken International managing director of East and West Africa, said: “Investing in a new market like Mozambique supports Heineken’s ambition to expand its footprint and be the number one or a strong number two in all markets in which it operates.

“With our extensive experience and existing business in Africa, we also aim to be a partner for growth today in Mozambique as we already are throughout the continent.”

In its full-year results published last month, Heineken recorded a 3.9% rise in full-year net revenues, as it profited from the strong performance of its namesake beer brand.

Heineken branded beer volume grew 7.7%, its strongest performance in more than a decade. Ten markets now sell more than 1 million hectolitres of Heineken branded beer.