• Coca-Cola will invest $1.03 billion in South Africa by 2030 to expand capacity and distribution;

• The move follows a similar $1 billion plan in Nigeria;

• The group strengthens its position amid rising competition in Africa’s beverage market.

The Coca-Cola Company plans to invest 17.6 billion rand (about $1.03 billion) in its South African operations by 2030.

The company stated in a release published on March 31 that it will use the funds to expand production capacity, strengthen distribution, and accelerate innovation across the Coca-Cola system’s value chain in the country. This system includes both the parent company and its authorized bottlers, including Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) and Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages.

“We are optimistic about the future of South Africa, with a continued focus on investing in our business and in initiatives that promote economic inclusion and sustainable local prosperity,” said Charl Goncalves, chief executive of Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages.

This announcement follows a similar investment plan unveiled in Nigeria two years earlier. On September 19, 2024, the company’s chief financial officer John Murphy presented a $1 billion investment project in Abuja targeting the Nigerian market over five years.

Meanwhile, the structure of the group’s bottling network in Africa has undergone significant changes between these announcements.

Reshaping the Bottling Network in Africa

Until 2024, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company operated in Africa only in Nigeria and Egypt. However, in October 2025, the bottler announced plans to acquire Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, the continent’s largest bottler, which operates in 14 countries in Southern Africa, including South Africa.

The deal предусматривает the acquisition of 75% of the capital for $2.6 billion, with completion expected in the second half of 2026 subject to regulatory approvals. As part of the process, Coca-Cola HBC also holds an option to acquire the remaining 25% stake in CCBA within up to six years after the initial transaction.

Ultimately, this transaction would position Coca-Cola HBC as one of the leading bottlers in the Coca-Cola system in Africa, within a market undergoing consolidation.

African Market Faces Rising Competition

At the same time, Coca-Cola’s expansion in sub-Saharan Africa’s two largest economies comes as other multinationals in the soft drinks segment step up their presence across the continent.

For example, Varun Beverages Limited (VBL), one of the main bottlers for PepsiCo, continues to expand in African markets. The company operates production sites in seven countries, including South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Zambia, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Morocco.

In 2025, VBL completed steps to enter Ghana and Tanzania, and it plans to establish a new industrial site in Kenya.

More recently, VBL strengthened its presence in South Africa through the acquisition of Twizza, finalized in March 2026 for about 2.1 billion rand (nearly $124 million).

In this context, Coca-Cola’s investments in Nigeria and South Africa reflect a strategy to consolidate its market position amid increasingly dynamic competition in African beverage markets.

This article was initially published in French by Stéphanas Assocle

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum