BY DAYO ADESULU
Authorities of Serengeti Breweries Limited have said that their organisation has earmarked $100m to fight against COVID-19 and other communicable diseases in Tanzania.
SBL initiative is part of a new Tshs 230 billion ($100 million) global Diageo programme to help outlets, and bars recover from COVID-19 and support jobs and communities around the world; The fund will roll out over the next two years benefitting over 2,000 outlets; It will include practical equipment for outlets to implement new social distancing measures, digital skills training and contactless technology.
Serengeti Breweries Limited (SBL) today announced a programme worth over 2.3 billion TSH to support bars and eateries in Dar es Salaam and other major towns to protect their staff and customers against the Covid-19 pandemic.
SBL’s support comes to light as the world struggles to return to the business from the torment inflicted by the global pandemic (Covid-19). While everyone wants to transcend the journey from failure to triumph, which as a notion, provides food for thought, SBL has identified conditions critical against all communicable diseases in the country, which include COVID-19.
Dubbed “Raise the Bar” or “Tunyanyuke Pamoja”, it will be a two-year programme starting in July 2021, offering outlets with free access to digital training and support via www.diageobaracademy.com.
According to the company’s Managing Director Mark Ocitti, this initiative by SB also complements the government’s efforts to call on people and businesses to practice good hygiene to prevent themselves from communicable diseases, COVID-19 included.
“In our initiative, we will support resilience, resolve and re-imagination to on-trade in Tanzania. The ultimate goal is to rise again, hence the name of our new project, Raise the Bar or Tunyanyuke Pamoja. The project will cover 2,000 outlets in the cities of Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Mwanza,” he said
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The project will support on-trade through ‘Tunyanyuke Pamoja’ in several ways, from training the outlet owners and staff against communicable diseases to providing technical equipment to transforming their outlets, according to Ocitti.
This program by SBL is part of a global campaign by Diageo to enable bars to respond to the impact of COVID-19. Other significant cities worldwide benefit from the program: Nairobi, Kampala, New York, London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Belfast, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Sydney, and beyond.
The “Raise the Bar” program was designed following a survey of bar owners to identify key priorities to support the reopening of their business. Their top priorities included hygiene measures, digital support and valuable equipment to transform how their outlets will work when they reopen.
The “Raise the Bar” programme will provide targeted support to help pay for the physical equipment needed for outlets to reopen. For example, it can provide initial funding for: ‘hygiene kits’ with high-quality permanent sanitiser dispenser units, medical-grade hand sanitisers and a range of personal protection equipment (such as masks and gloves); help pubs and bars to establish partnerships with online reservations and cashless systems; mobile bars and outdoor equipment,” the MD elaborated.
From June 30th, bar owners will be able to register their interest in the “Raise the Bar” programme via www.diageobaracademy.com
The managing director added: ‘Our bars and eateries constitute a critical part of our hospitality and service industry. Their universe employs thousands of people and benefits many more indirectly. We have launched “Raising the Bar” because so many outlets have recorded business slowdown as a result of this health crisis and therefore, badly need to recover.”
SBL is a key stakeholder against COVID-19 in Tanzania since the first case of the pandemic was reported in the country. In March 2020, the company partnered with the ministry of health to create COVID-19 awareness to the public by distributing flyers and posters throughout the country. A month later, SBL donated sanitisers to the Ministry of Health, again supporting the country’s effort to combat the further spread of Covid-19.
The impact of Covid-19 on the hospitality sector has been widespread, with the closure of venues. However, by providing access to free digital support, technology, training and equipment, Diageo aims to help any bar, anywhere, open its doors again.
