Heineken has been in Ethiopia for nine years, and within a short period risen to become a major employer and one of the highest tax-paying companies in the country. But the company’s vision is to grow as ambitiously and robustly as the country can. This is why Hubert Eze, managing director for Heineken Breweries SC, who sat down with Fortune for an interview, sees the company as thoroughly Ethiopian. Having gone from the position of sales representative in Nigeria to managing director of one of the brewer’s largest African market, Eze stresses that Heineken is in it for the long haul.

Q: Heineken has been around in Ethiopia for almost a decade now. Can you tell us a little about some of the investments that have been made?

Heineken, as a policy everywhere we go in Africa, including Ethiopia, has a long-term ambition about investments. So we invest for the long haul.

We arrived in 2011 with the acquisition of Bedele and Harar breweries. We've also built the most modern brewery in the country in Kilinto in two phases. We've invested 92 billion Br in Ethiopia in manufacturing, agricultural, human capital development, marketing and supporting local enterprises in our local sourcing programme. It's quite extensive. If you look at human capital development we have Ethiopians who've been given the opportunity to head overseas, acquire specific technical skills and come back to Ethiopia.

When you develop the skills of people, a lot of them will move to other industries and facilitate growth there. We also have technical improvement programmes embedded in the culture and work method of Heineken.

If you also look at the way we manage the technological transfer, it is very important. When we started, we had a lot of expats working here, but as we progressed those numbers are coming down as they are being substituted by locals. In fact, there is now an Ethiopian that has risen to become a supply chain director in one of the top African markets.

Q: Those are a lot of investments to protect. Over the past year, there have been changes, including an alcohol advertising ban, excise tax increase and then the lockdown of bars and restaurants. This must have been a very bad year for you.

We are a responsible company and an Ethiopian company. We must obey the laws of the country. Has is it impacted our business? Yes, of course. The cost of beer and non-alcoholic drinks has gone up. It affects consumption; it affects how much people pay. It is not scary to us, but it is the reality of the moment.

But when you put the kind of money we are putting on the table and building the kind of human capital we have, it means we are here for the long haul. We have a very young workforce and over 1,000 people working for us. The impact across the economy is around 30,000 people. All depend on the investments we make, whether you are in the bar or the 40,000 farmers we support. This shows that we are here to stay. Temporary setbacks will come.

COVID-19 came. It affected consumption, consumers and the world. It brought us back to our senses and changed the way we live. One of the things that I enjoy in the Ethiopian culture is the way you eat and share. So when you eat, you share. You do not just share a meal, you share the love. COVID-19 stopped it. The African heart is warm.

If COVID-19 can do all these things. it changes the way we look at life and the way we operate completely. We think and hope that it will be temporary. Much credit goes to the Ministry of Health on how they managed it so far. The consistency, clarity and direction and the support they gave to people that were infected. They've been very effective. Hopefully, we all support the government to continue its progress.

Q: When something like the COVID-19 pandemic occurs, there is an increasing urgency for corporations to fulfill their social responsibility. How has Heineken been trying to play its part?

We have done a lot, but it's never enough. We would love to do more. We supported the government with a donation of three million Birr to the Addis Abeba City Administration, for instance. We've held feeding programmes. Over the Ethiopian ,New year we spent the holiday with doctors and other administrative staffs of St. Pawl Hospital looking after COVID-19 patients. We had food cooked and served to them, because those are people that are making a difference.

In communities, we've been providing hand sanitiser and hand wash stations, including in towns such as Addis Ababa Bedele and Harar. Being part of the community is very important to us. This makes it effective for us to be good neighbours. Remember, we are also a part of the community. There is, in fact, a project in a slum we're thinking about now. How can we renew it, creating a little bit better living conditions in the area?

In the area of social corporate responsibility, we believe that we do not only invest in the economy or human capital. We also invest in socially impactful projects. That is why we have the Heineken African Foundation, which is dedicated to maternal and child care, water hygiene and sanitation. We spent close to 150 million Br already in Ethiopia under the Foundation, building and renewing hospitals, maternity wards and water infrastructure.

It is very dear to our heart.

Q: The beer industry has come to be dominated by foreign multinational firms over the past decade. What do you say to the accusation that this hurts the economy in the long term?

For the economic development of any country, you need foreign investment. It is important that you attract them and keep them.

Remember, Heineken Ethiopia is an Ethiopian company with international investors - you need to view it from that lens. If you look at the over 37,000 jobs we've created indirectly, we're helping over 40,000 farmers and their households and 1000-plus employees.

When you come with training and development of human capital, the best thing you can do for anybody, any professional, is to give them knowledge. It is something you never take away. Ethiopians or the Ethiopian government should not be worried about the role being played by Heineken in the economy, because we are here to stay for the long term.