Sorghum project in Sierra Leone

A local sourcing project

HEINEKEN’s local sourcing project in Sierra Leone is part of the company’s Africa-wide strategy to procure at least 60% of its raw materials locally. The case has stimulated local entrepreneurship, created hundreds of new jobs for local population and increased smallholder farmers’ incomes significantly, thereby alleviating poverty.

Since 1988, HEINEKEN has been developing its sorghum brewing technology and know-how. The award-winning project in Sierra Leone was established in 2005 with the goal to develop a sustainable local supply chain for Sierra Leone Breweries Ltd (SLBL). SLBL trained farmers in good agricultural practices, organised bulking and transport and tested new sorghum varieties for better processing quality and yield. The sustainable local supply chain was established with co-funding of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), an international institution that specialises in commodity development.

Locally produced sorghum shortens the supply chain and diversification of raw material sourcing, both beneficial to local farmers and SLBL. Reducing grain imports leads to savings of scarce foreign currency for Sierra Leone. More importantly however, hundreds of local smallholder farmers in Sierra Leone now have a cash income. This all led to the creation of solid relationships and trust between all stakeholders in the new supply chain.

On 22 September 2010, during the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit hosted by the United Nations, HEINEKEN received the 2010 World Business and Development (WBD) Award for this sustainable local supply chain initiative in Sierra Leone. The company is one of only ten organisations to receive the 2010 WBD award. According to the members of the International Judging Panel, HEINEKEN impressed by demonstrating a clear link between vital business practices and the contribution of the project towards the Millennium Development Goals.