Today began with something we thought we had left behind in our past: a case study! It was about two local entrepreneurs; the discussion was lead by the Dean of Nairobi’s Strathmore Business School and one of the protagonists came to provide his personal account.
In the afternoon we met with the general management of East Africa Brewing Ltd, a beer/spirits company so large that it contributes almost 50% of the Kenyan government’s revenue in taxes every year! The management team—all locally educated—was incredibly sharp; we grilled them about their strategy, finance, and operations but they answered beautifully.
This meeting also included tours of both the glass bottle manufacturing plant and the brewery. Now I know why Guinness tastes different here; it is brewed here with local ingredients and the recipe is adjusted for local tastes. That’s too bad but at least I can say that I drank Kenyan beer without having to resort to the very light Tusker (also brewed by EABL) that seems to be the national icon.
Pictures are in my facebook album.