Coca-Cola Value Chain Delivers $1bn Economic Impact, Supports 160,000 Jobs

Raheem Akingbolu

For more than seven decades, Coca-Cola has been part of Nigeria’s commercial and social landscape, refreshing millions of consumers while building an extensive economic ecosystem that connects manufacturers, suppliers, farmers, distributors, transporters and retailers across the country.

The scale of this contribution is now becoming clearer. A comprehensive Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) has revealed that the Coca-Cola System in Nigeria generated approximately $1 billion in value-added economic activity and supported more than 160,200 jobs across the country in 2024 alone, highlighting the far-reaching economic impact of its operations beyond the production and sale of beverages.

Conducted by Steward Redqueen, a global consultancy with experience undertaking similar assessments for the Coca-Cola System in more than 60 markets, the study examined the economic footprint of The Coca-Cola Company and its authorised bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), alongside the extensive network of businesses that support their operations.

Using the internationally recognised input-output economic model developed by Nobel laureate Wassily Leontief, the assessment went beyond the companies’ direct contributions to capture the wider economic activity generated across their value chains. It examined how spending on local goods and services stimulates business activities, supports employment and creates additional economic opportunities across interconnected sectors.

The employment figures offer a particularly compelling insight into this multiplier effect. Of the more than 160,200 jobs supported in 2024, approximately 2,989 were direct jobs within the Coca-Cola System, while about 157,200 were sustained indirectly across sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, retail and services.

In other words, for every direct job created within the System, approximately 53 additional jobs were supported elsewhere in the economy. This illustrates how the activities of a major manufacturing and distribution business can generate employment opportunities far beyond its immediate workforce.

Local procurement is another significant driver of this impact. According to the assessment, the Coca-Cola System spent approximately $601 million on goods and services sourced from Nigerian suppliers in 2024. This expenditure supports a broad network of local businesses, including agricultural producers, packaging manufacturers, industrial suppliers and service providers. The System’s reliance on locally sourced, produced, manufactured and distributed ingredients and packaging further strengthens these economic linkages.

Beyond its immediate commercial operations, the Coca-Cola System continues to invest in initiatives addressing environmental sustainability and community development.

In February 2025, the System inaugurated a Packaging Collection Hub in Apapa, Lagos, with the capacity to process up to 13,000 metric tonnes of PET bottles annually. The facility is also expected to support approximately 1,000 informal waste collectors, strengthening the country’s recycling ecosystem while creating livelihood opportunities.

Water stewardship is another important area of investment. Through its Africa Water Stewardship Initiative, announced in September 2024, the Coca-Cola System is supporting a nearly $25 million investment across more than 20 African countries by 2030. The initiative, involving The Coca-Cola Company’s Africa Operating Unit, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa and Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company, seeks to improve water access and strengthen community resilience.

In Nigeria, The Coca-Cola Foundation has also committed $1.25 million towards expanding access to safe water and strengthening water systems in Lagos and Abuja. The initiative is designed to improve critical infrastructure, build local capacity and promote more sustainable access to water for communities.

These interventions come against the backdrop of the System’s ambition to accelerate investment in Nigeria to $1 billion over the next five years, subject to a predictable and enabling operating environment. The proposed investment signals continued confidence in the country’s economic potential and the opportunities presented by its large consumer market and extensive business ecosystem.

Taken together, the findings of the SEIA present a compelling picture of the Coca-Cola System’s economic footprint in Nigeria. Beyond its familiar consumer brands, the business supports a network of enterprises, livelihoods and economic activities that contribute to national development.

At a time when Nigeria is seeking to stimulate investment, expand employment and strengthen local productive capacity, the assessment offers an important perspective on the wider economic value of manufacturing-led businesses and the multiplier effects they can generate across the economy.