https://youtu.be/U0iy4NNEnyA

Diageo, owner of the second largest breweries in Ethiopia Meta Abo, officially opened a new $119 million bottling line in Sebeta. Speaking at the launch of the plant the company CEO Ivan Menezes  said the upgrade completed an overall $344 million investment by the company in Ethiopia.

Menezes said that the brewery had tripled annual capacity since its acquisition three years ago. Diageo acquired Meta Abo from the Ethiopian Government for $225m in early-2012.

“Diageo entered Ethiopia three year ago. We’ve invested about $344 million and we are here for the long term because this is a very exciting market,” Menezes told CCTV Africa. “It’s got good demographics and very good economic growth and we’ve got good support from the government, from our customers and distributors, to build a sustainable business here.”

Diageo expects beer sales in Ethiopia will grow by about 11 percent between fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2024.

Ethiopia, a country of 80 million people with a fast growing economy, has become a new frontier for global breweries going by the increased investment they are making across the region. In January, Heineken announced that its new $129 million brewery in Ethiopia was up to full capacity.