Varun Beverages, a leading PepsiCo franchisee, is investing $50 million in a state-of-the-art Pepsi production facility in Kiswishi City, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The facility, located in the country’s first private Special Economic Zone (SEZ), will create thousands of jobs and expand PepsiCo’s brands in the region. The investment is one of the largest consumer-focused foreign direct investments (FDI) in the DRC’s history.
The facility will be built on 15 hectares of land and will have easy access to the rapidly growing population of Lubumbashi and the Haut-Katanga Province. The Kiswishi City SEZ is a project by Rendeavour, Africa’s largest new city builder, which has already catalyzed billions of dollars in foreign and domestic investment and created tens of thousands of jobs.
The investment demonstrates Varun Beverages’ confidence in the Congolese market and commitment to sustainable manufacturing. The SEZ’s secure and predictable business environment has attracted other businesses, including Congo Petrol and Queen Energy, and has contributed to the country’s economic growth.