Coca-Cola System Spent Ksh 194 Billion With COMESA Suppliers

What changed

Coca-Cola’s system spent Ksh 194 billion ($1.5 billion) with suppliers across 21 COMESA countries in 2024, according to a study commissioned by the company and conducted by Steward Redqueen.

The study says Coca-Cola’s bottlers, suppliers, distributors and retailers contributed Ksh 464 billion ($3.6 billion) to the region’s combined GDP and supported more than 458,200 jobs. The figures were presented at the 19th COMESA Business Forum in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Why it matters

The spending puts a measurable figure on Coca-Cola’s regional footprint beyond the familiar bottle and logo. The money moved through sugar production, manufacturing, packaging and logistics, linking the company’s operations to businesses across a 21-country market.

The reported GDP contribution equals 0.3% of COMESA’s combined economy. The study also says each direct Coca-Cola-system job supported 28 more jobs elsewhere in the regional economy.

The informed speculation is that Coca-Cola will use these figures to strengthen the case for local partnerships and supply chains in Africa. That case is substantial in scale, but the study’s distribution of spending among countries and industries, as well as its methodology, was not independently verified.