Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) has reflected on its journey saying that they have paid Shs 7.4 trillion in taxes for the last 75 years and Shs 420 billion in the last financial year.
Established in 1946, UBL is Uganda’s leading premium adult beverage company moved from sourcing 1 percent of inputs locally in 2006 to 92 percent. Last year the UBL paid Shs 45 Billion to farmers. Only 7 percent of its profit goes to shareholders.
Reflecting on its journey and marking its 75th anniversary, the Managing Director of UBL Alvin Mbugua said the company contributes 0.4 percent of the country’s total GDP and employs close to 1 percent of the country’s workforce directly and indirectly.
“The partnerships we have created have enabled us to source all our spirits from within Uganda, the Pearl of Africa. This is what partnerships do; they enable us to grow our ecosystem and our shared value. If you pulled UBL out of the equation, over 4 million households would be affected directly. Nearly 93 percent of the population would feel the adverse effects,” he said.
“We must create a business that has winning opportunities for everyone and not just the business. I can tell you, without our local raw material sourcing program, we wouldn’t have survived COVID-19,” he said.
“Uganda Breweries were pioneers in pulling out the use of non-recyclable plastics such as sachets that we used to pack in Uganda Waragi. It affected our business negatively but we did it for the environment,” Former UBL MD Mark Ocitti said.
UBL has invested in a number of Water Access, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) community projects and provided direct livelihood support to over 25,000 farmers in Uganda.
According to the former Marketing Manager of UBL, the company has supported Art, Sports and music in the country. She said Bell Lager and Guinness have sponsored rugby at the time when they were really needed.
“The company through its flagship brands has as well done a lot of sport events, that is to say the Buganda sports gala. It also sponsored pearl of Africa Music Awards, Miss Uganda and all stars,” she said.
“We are probably the only company that gives women a six months maternity leave in which they still earn. Celebrating life and growing Ugandans taps into our core aspects,” said Jimmy Mugerwa, Non-Executive Director on UBL’s board.
