Diageo Africa president and team pay courtesy visit to President Ramkalawan   |24 August 2023

From left to right: Mr Belle, Mrs Mwangi, Mr Nayager, President Ramkalawan, Mr Ross and Ms Ernesta (Photo: Louis Toussaint)

•Discusses SBL’s role towards responsible drinking

Diageo Africa president Dayalan Nayager and the incoming managing director of Seychelles Breweries Limited, Yvonne Mwangi paid a courtesy visit to Seychelles’ President Wavel Ramkalawan yesterday afternoon at State House.

The main topic of discussion was alcohol consumption in society and the role that Seychelles Breweries Ltd (SBL) plays in responsible drinking as well as the potential partnership with the health ministry.

“We want to make sure that we can partner with the government on that subject. As Diageo and Seychelles Breweries we are committed in making sure that we educate consumers on alcohol, whatever it is – wine, beer etc,” said Mrs Mwangi.

“The education also consists on what it does to your body. We also invite people to the brewery to see how the drinks are being produced and we continue to ensure that consumers know they can drink alcohol but responsibly. I think that is the role we want to play in the coming few years including the issue of obesity,” added Mrs Mwangi.

When questioned whether this does not contradict the core business of Seychelles Breweries, Mrs Mwangi explained that the company focuses a lot on the quality of the alcohol.

“That is one of the things we have done as Diageo group – making sure consumers know where it is produced, the alcohol content and you are actually very secure about the quality of what you are drinking. We are okay with losing a little bit of our sales as long as people are drinking better,” she explained.

Mrs Mwangi also shared that the president mentioned the problem of obesity in their discussion and they are looking at how they can partner with the Ministry of Health on that issue also.

The incoming managing director also pointed out that Seychelles Breweries had a good fiscal year last year and this year has also been a good one. She said the company was looking forward to continued performance. “If you have been looking at how we have been paying our shareholders, it has been strength on strength for the last couple of years, even during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic,” she stated.

Seychelles Breweries also has a sustainability master plan which it plans to achieve by 2030 at a cost of 8.8 million pounds. Mrs Mwangi said this was to make sure they are a responsible organisation. Already the company is going green, with 5 percent of its plant on solar, and approval to go another 5 percent. Seychelles Breweries also plans to build an effluent treatment plant.

“There is a lot we are doing to make sure that the sustainability master plan comes to life in the next seven years. And we will be amongst the few breweries in Africa that will be net carbon zero and that is something that we are very excited about at Seychelles Breweries,” shared Mrs Mwangi.

Andrew Ross, managing director for Africa Emerging Markets (Diageo); Bertrand Belle, commercial director for Seychelles Breweries; and Mary Anne Ernesta, corporate relations manager for Seychelles, were also present for the meeting.

Vidya Gappy