ACCRA, Ghana, June 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
Partnership with South Africa's Distell will bring leading drinks brands to the West African market while creating jobs and training opportunities for local people.
Finatrade Group, the specialist West African trading conglomerate, has opened a state of the art alcoholic beverage bottling plant in Ghana in partnership with Distell of South Africa. The facility cost US$ 5 million, and is located in Tema, outside Accra.
The plant is just the latest project by Finatrade, which has blazed a trail in West Africa by introducing brand new manufacturing and farming projects, creating thousands of jobs and training opportunities for the local population. The new bottling plant will develop management and technical skills for employees in Ghana as well as boosting Ghana's manufacturing sector.
The partnership with Distell sees the international beverages firm tapping into Finatrade's existing distribution knowledge of West Africa including its expertise in pricing and packaging products for the retail market. The new operation will bottle Distell's international cider and whiskey brands as well as other spirits.
Distell is the third biggest producer of ciders worldwide. Hunter, one of its cider brands, is the top selling brand in South Africa and ranked second globally.
Finatrade's Chairman, Nabil Moukarzel, commented: "The value of foreign direct investment on the continent continues to grow and intra-African initiatives now account for close to a quarter of the flow, according to the most recent Africa Attractiveness survey. By pooling the skills of both Finatrade and Distell, we have provided a good example of how other African business partners can collaborate for the good of the continent."
Finatrade continues to win recognition at all levels for its investment in Ghana's local food and beverages industry. It recently commissioned a rice mill in Sogakope, in the Volta region, in partnership with GADCO, and continues to play an important role in the distribution of rice and frozen foods in West Africa. It employs over 5000 people locally.
About Finatrade
The Finatrade group of companies are an established regional conglomerate specialising in agri-commodities and food distribution in Ghana and the wider West African area. After more than 10 years of trading in the region we are considered experts in distribution and branding in the retail market and in developing more efficient ways to bring products to market.
For more information please contact: Stuart Fieldhouse +44(0)207-377-1489
