Si
si
AFRICA
HAS
ENORMOUS
POTENTIAL
...you shouldn't only look
at the volume
a
LOCAL TRANSPj
From left to right:
Guido Janssen,
Jacco van der Linden,
Diederik Kalff
The time when Africa was seen as a lost continent trapped in a
downward spiral is definitely a thing of the past. There may be
exceptions that are still negative, but as a whole the economy of
the continent is growing. Heineken has been present in Africa
for more than 55 years and can see great potential for its local
breweries and for exports of Heineken and Amstel. For several
years in succession exports to Africa have been showing hand
some increases, thanks to the professionalisation of the operation.
Doom and gloom has come to an end.
Diederik Kalff, Guido Janssen and Jacco van der Linden are Area
Export Managers. Together with Peter Simons, who is stationed in
South Africa, they are responsible for export of Heineken and
PAGE 40
Amstel to the region. "Heineken is available in fifty African
countries. But Guido was in charge of 24 countries, and I had to
handle 26. Far too many to really focus on. Our achievements
over the past year prove that the new approach is now starting to
show in the results," says Jacco van der Linden, whose region is
mainly in West Africa, where Heineken's most important market is
Nigeria.
Before the three Export Managers started out on their task in Africa,
Heineken made sure that they were familiar with the techniques
used for the marketing of Heineken Beer. That marketing-based
approach, says Diederik Kalff (North and West Africa), typifies the
changes that have taken place within the Heineken Export Group.
