Standard Bank Unlocks USD50 Finance for Coca Cola Expansion in Ethiopia

Standard Bank unlocks USD50 million funding for Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) in order to finance its expansion strategy in Ethiopia over the next five years.

CCBA, under its subsidiary East Africa Bottling S.C, has already invested USD 70 million in a new plant that is set to become its largest in Ethiopia with a manufacturing capability of 70 000 cases per day.

The Coca-Cola Company holds a majority stake in CCBA,making it the largest bottler of Coca-Cola beverages in Africa – having a presence in 13 countries on the continent.

“We have demonstrated the importance of our partnership with CCBA by offering unique solutions to key concerns, of which this transaction is a prime example,” says Simon Reeves, Standard Bank’s relationship manager for CCBA, in an interview with Business Report, a media outlet based in South Africa.

With a presence in markets that match CCBA’s operations in Africa and having established a representative office in Addis Ababa in 2015, Standard Bank was able to provide insight into the local market that best supported CCBA’s growth ambitions in Ethiopia – a high growth region for Coca-Cola.

“The CCBA deal holds significance as new FDI will be realised for Ethiopia, set to positively influence the country’s economic trajectory,” says Taitu Wondwosen, Head of Ethiopia for Standard Bank Group, in an interview with Business Report.

Coca-Cola entered Ethiopia six decades ago and has since created about 2100 direct and more than 50,000 indirect jobs in the country.