Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Coca-Cola System in Nigeria has announced plans to invest an additional $1 billion in the country over the next five years, a commitment that underscores the multinational's long-term confidence in Africa's largest economy but which remains contingent on a predictable and enabling policy environment.
The announcement, contained in a release shared with PUNCH Online on Saturday, followed a new socio-economic assessment of the Coca-Cola System in Nigeria conducted by global consultancy Steward Redqueen in 2024. The study, which examined the economic contributions of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and its authorised bottler, the Nigerian Bottling Company, used the Nobel Prize-winning Leontief input-output economic model to quantify the system's footprint across the Nigerian economy.
According to the release, the Coca-Cola System supported approximately 160,200 jobs throughout its value chain, comprising 2,989 direct employees and more than 157,200 additional jobs sustained indirectly across sectors such as agriculture, logistics, retail, hospitality and distribution. The study further found that for every job created directly by the company, an additional 53 jobs were supported elsewhere in the economy, reflecting the multiplier effect of its operations and supply chain activities.
Beyond employment, the report estimated that the Coca-Cola System generated $1 billion in value-added economic activity within Nigeria during the period under review. It also disclosed that the company spent about $601 million annually on goods and services sourced from local suppliers, reinforcing the role of domestic procurement in supporting economic growth. The assessment noted that a significant proportion of ingredients, packaging materials and other production inputs used by the Coca-Cola System are sourced, produced and distributed locally, an approach that has enabled the company to deepen its integration into Nigeria's agricultural, manufacturing and logistics sectors while extending economic opportunities to businesses and individuals across the country.
The report also highlighted the company's sustainability-focused investments, particularly in waste management and water stewardship. It pointed to the launch of a packaging collection hub in Apapa, Lagos, capable of processing 13,000 metric tonnes of PET plastic annually and expected to support about 1,000 informal waste collectors. According to the study, the facility is designed to strengthen Nigeria's recycling ecosystem by improving plastic recovery and supporting livelihoods linked to waste collection and recycling activities. In the area of water sustainability, the report highlighted a $25 million Africa-wide water stewardship initiative covering 20 markets, including Nigeria. Communities in Borno and Imo states have already benefited from projects such as borehole rehabilitation, sanitation infrastructure and riverbank restoration efforts, with more than 2.6 million people reportedly impacted.
The announcement comes as the Nigerian Bottling Company, a member of the Coca-Cola HBC Group, marks its 75th anniversary in Nigeria. NBC began production in Ebute Metta, Lagos, in 1951 and has since expanded to eight plants, 11 depots and 52 commercial territories across the country, supporting employment and local supply chains. Chairman of Coca-Cola HBC, Anastassis G. David, said the company's decision in 1951 to secure bottling rights for Nigeria reflected a long-term belief in the country and its people. Sola David-Borha, Chairperson of NBC's Board, attributed the company's endurance to trust built through consistency, sound governance and sustained engagement with stakeholders. NBC Managing Director, Goran Sladic, described the anniversary as "75 years of growing with Nigeria," saying the company remained committed to developing people, supporting communities and strengthening local value chains.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was the special guest of honour at the anniversary gala in Abuja, was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume. The President commended the Coca-Cola System for the proposed investment, describing it as a demonstration of confidence in Nigeria's economy. He recalled that the Coca-Cola System had announced the planned $1 billion investment in Nigeria over a five-year period, starting from 2024, noting that the commitment, which followed $1.5 billion invested during the preceding decade, was a vote of confidence in Nigeria's growing economy. "Our message to investors, both Nigerian and international, is clear: Nigeria is open for business, and we are working to make the business environment more predictable, more competitive and more supportive of investment," the President said.
Tinubu acknowledged the practical challenges confronting businesses, but assured that his administration is addressing them through reforms under the Renewed Hope Agenda. He identified stable and reliable power and infrastructure, clear and consistent regulations, efficient ports and logistics, access to foreign exchange and a tax system that encourages productive enterprise as factors that directly influence decisions by investors on whether to expand factories, establish new production lines and create additional employment opportunities. He said his administration was interested not merely in the volume of capital coming into the country but also in the impact such investments have on employment, skills development, local sourcing, technology transfer and domestic productive capacity. "We are interested not only in the amount of capital that comes into Nigeria, but in what that capital does here," he said.
Coca-Cola HBC Chief Executive Officer, Zoran Bogdanovic, reaffirmed the Group's commitment to its previously announced plan to invest up to $1 billion in Nigeria over five years, subject to a predictable and enabling business environment. The conditional nature of the investment underscores the importance of policy stability and regulatory predictability in attracting and retaining foreign capital. The announcement also included a fresh $1.25 million commitment to support young entrepreneurs in the hospitality and food service sector, unveiled at the anniversary gala.
The investment programme has already begun to take tangible form. In July 2026, NBC commissioned three new production lines at its plants in Oyo and Kano states, with two located at its Asejire plant in Oyo State and the third at its Challawa plant in Kano State. The facilities, equipped with advanced bottling technology, form the first phase of a nationwide programme to expand production capacity across the company's Nigerian plants in 2026. The company said the latest expansion builds on more than $1.5 billion invested in its Nigerian operations over the past decade and is part of the Coca-Cola System's long-term investment plans for the country.
For Nigeria, the commitment represents a significant vote of confidence at a time when the government is seeking to attract foreign investment to support economic diversification and job creation. The Coca-Cola System's deep integration into local supply chains, its substantial procurement from Nigerian suppliers and its extensive employment footprint make it one of the most consequential multinational investors in the country. The coming years will determine whether the policy environment remains sufficiently stable to allow the full $1 billion to be deployed, and whether the investment translates into the kind of productive capacity, job creation and local value addition that the government has identified as its central economic objective.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments