Diageo President for Africa and Chief Commercial Officer, Dayalan Nayager, has paid a courtesy call on Ghana’s Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
The meeting was also to introduce Guinness Ghana’s new Managing Director, Felicite Nson, whose appointment was recently confirmed at the company’s 51st Annual General Meeting.
Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC, the leading total beverages business listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange and a subsidiary of Diageo, posted its strongest performance in a financial year since its set up, 63 years ago in fiscal 2022 and currently sources over 63% of its raw materials from within the country.
A recently published socio-economic impact assessment study of its Local Raw Material Sourcing initiative, establishes that Guinness Ghana impacts the livelihoods of over 370,000 farmers and their dependents across the Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Savannah and Bono East Regions.
The Diageo President for Africa, Dayalan Nayager, during the interaction with the Vice President called on government to sustain efforts aimed at enabling a friendly business environment for continued investment in Ghana.
He noted, “Diageo’s investment in Ghana over the past five years – plant and machinery, processes and people, is over USD 100 million. Our commitment to Ghana is long term and we continue to explore investment opportunities that will grow our business and the economy. Investment decisions are made across the continent taking into account the tax regimes and ease of doing business. These investments, however, are sustainable where there is the requisite predictable fiscal and regulatory environment to safeguard investments and return revenue to government and stakeholders.”
On her part Felicite Nson expressed appreciation for the very warm welcome she has had since joining the Ghana business. She highlighted her commitments to growing the Ghana business and leading its grain-to-glass sustainability agenda with environmentally sound manufacturing practices, responsible drinking, diversity and inclusion and community impact initiatives such as local raw material sourcing and the ‘Water for life’ replenishment programme. Since 2020, Guinness Ghana in partnership with WaterAid has replenished over 250,000m3 of water in Denugu, Sabuli, Jirapa, Pusiga, Gbare, Zuabilga and Worikambo communities in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions of Ghana with its solar powered community water centres.
The Vice President on his part, acknowledged the contributions of Guinness Ghana to the country and reiterated government’s focus on providing the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive. He elaborated on the digitization of the Ghanaian economy as a first step to broadening the tax base of the country, citing the positive benefits and impact digitization is making on efficiency and revenue generation in key government institutions. He assured the Diageo delegation of Government’s commitment to supporting private sector to grow, stating that when businesses thrive, Ghana as a nation also thrives.