In celebration of a Group, we love - the Youth.

By Tope Akinsanya - Group Human Resources Director, and Eric Kiniti – Group Corporate Relations Director

Increasingly, companies are realizing the immense value that diverse groups have to offer through their unique value propositions. This is due to the tangible results, from the diverse groups, seen in businesses today, as well as embracing and upholding of human rights for all, including special-interest groups such as women, youth, and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).?We must, therefore, nurture and anchor these groups' dreams, not only for socio-economic prosperity but also for the sustainable development of the nation.?

As we mark International Youth Day 2022, we recognize the importance of working together to ensure that we leave no one behind. This year’s celebrations ride on the theme?Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages -?warning?us against allowing ageism, bias, and discrimination to prevent essential collaborations among us.

Therefore, it is our responsibility to inspire a generation of responsible, independent, and dependable youths that will steer the country forward.?

At Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL), we acknowledge the youth for their unmatched vigor and power. We are keen to tap into their talents and are willing to hold their hands and help them sail in the harsh waves that come with their youthful years.?

Over the years, we have actively collaborated with youth, in line with our sustainability pillar,?Championing Inclusion and Diversity.?We want to achieve an inclusive and collaborative culture that ensures all our people, including the youth, thrive. We give the youth a priority during employment as well as in the implementation of our community projects.?

We have also continued to embrace the youth and give them opportunities to nurture their talents and creativity and enable them to grow within the organization. Over?40%?of our staff are youth (18-34 years old).?We have leveraged them as a catalyst for our creative and out-of-the-box thinking, with leverage on technology and innovation. The Digi-Tribe Unit is the epitome of this. The unit comprises predominantly young and digital-savvy individuals who handle our digital marketing activations and campaigns.?

We also run a firmly established Internship and Graduates Program that provides learning opportunities for practical working experience for the youth. This is a bid to enhance their skills-set and position them for employment opportunities and leadership roles. Over 30?talented youths go through this program?every quarter.??

We also work closely with the youth through our Sustainability initiatives which include; Learning for Life, Diageo Bar Academy, and Brand led activations such as Tusker Nexters.?

Our Learning for Life initiative offers a life-skills development curriculum that includes courses on budgeting, time management, and responsible drinking among others. In F22, we surpassed our Learning for Life targets (4,000 people) to reach 5,327 beneficiaries. The programme targets the youth as well as other players across our value chain.

Through the Diageo Bar Academy programme, we have trained 8,700 people in the hospitality industry, out of whom 31 were persons with disability.??

In order to foster the next generation of musical talent and sports, we launched the Tusker Nexters campaign aimed at identifying and rewarding the next generation of musical talent. We have also given them a springboard to the next era of sport - e-sports, or electronic sports. Over 55,000 people – mostly youth- auditioned for the Tusker Nexters project, getting an opportunity to experience global music performance platforms.?

We are indeed excited to celebrate the youth at EABL and would like to cheer them on as they contribute to the building of this economy.

We encourage them to leverage the wealth of opportunities available at EABL. We will continue to engage and prioritize the youth in all our programs, projects, and platforms.?