Belgian firm takes over BMC, changes name to Skol brewery

UNIBRA a Belgium based brewery has taken over full ownership of Brasserie des Mille Collines (BMC), the manufacturer of Skol beer. Christophe Thibaut, General Secretary, UNIBRA said that the takeover will help the brewery to expand its capacity to meet the current growing demand for beer in the Rwandan market.UNIBRA has jointly owned BMC with a group of local investors.“There are good reasons to make this move as shareholders to take over full ownership of the brewery because we see Rwanda as a growing beer market and a strategic location for targeted exports in the region,” he said yesterday at a press briefing to announce the takeover.Thibauti said that UNIBRA is injecting in over US$15 million towards expansion of the brewery. The brewery makes 100,000 hectoliters of beer every year.Rwanda’s beer demand stands at 1.2 million hectoliters in market largely controlled by Bralirwa, a subsidiary of Heineken Company.Alex Ruzibukira, the Deputy Director of Industry in the Ministry of Trade and Industry said the increasing investment by international companies will promote technology transfer and increase employment opportunities. “This beer sector was dominated by Bralirwa, this means that when we see more investors coming to invest in the sector, we expect to see growth and promote Rwanda as an investment hub in the region,” he saidThomas Weingarten, SKOL’s Managing Director said that the expansion plan is mainly due to the success of skol malt and the recently launched Gatano, the brewer’s new beer brand.“Its obvious the beer market in the East African region is growing at good rates, so it’s about how you share the growth or if your able to capture some of the market,” he said.

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Belgian firm takes over BMC, changes name to Skol brewery