By Emmy Hashakimana
The phrase “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” is often quoted by writers, consultants and organisational culture experts.
As I settled into my role at the helm of Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda (CCBU), I found this statement both true and profound. Strategies change, markets shift, regulations evolve and competition grows – but culture endures.
At CCBU, our culture is built on agility, passion, discipline and a strong commitment to community. These values shape how we deliver value to our consumers, partners and communities.
When I joined CCBU, a company in the Coca-Cola Beverages Africa group, in August, I was convinced that great companies are built not only on good products, but on people; not just on profits, but on purpose; and not only on ambition, but on performance rooted in principle.
In my first weeks, I visited our plants, walked through markets, met our sales teams and distributors, and spoke with staff at every level. I was struck by how closely our work connects to real lives – the families, dreams and daily challenges of the people who make it possible.
This is why, at CCBU, we are committed to unparalleled professional growth for our people, providing an exciting journey of learning and development within a passionate, caring team. We thrive on delivering our beloved portfolio of brands across Sparkling Soft Drinks, Juices, Water, and Energy categories, making a positive impact on communities, and achieving market success together.
We are clear about how we want to show up and grow in the way we behave, and it starts with embracing a GROWTH MINDSET. We raise the bar on what’s possible and cultivate a high-performance culture, always putting our customers first
We collaborate for impact, work together as one team, embrace differences and commit to decisions.
And we act with integrity. We do what’s right, play within the rules and build trust for the long run. CCBA invests in developing skills to establish a sustainable pipeline of talent to meet our future needs and those of the countries where we have a footprint. We believe it starts with nurturing and retaining the skills we already have, while driving improvements in our high-performance culture.
But people and goodwill alone are not enough. In a fast-changing economy, with competition, supply chain challenges, rising costs and growing expectations from consumers and partners – performance is essential.
CCBU is a customer-obsessed, digitally enabled, growth-driven business. We strive for excellence across our value chain and partner with our customers for growth.
Our aim is to inspire excellence and set the standard as Uganda’s most respected and admired company, fostering growth, innovation and impact in fulfilment of our vision to refresh Uganda and create shared value.
We are dedicated to creating value and delivering exceptional service across every touchpoint of our business.
We create value for our customers through service excellence and total customer centricity, end-to-end across our business. We help our customers to grow with leading in-trade execution and best-in-class distribution.
In Uganda, business is part of society, and CCBU aims to create shared value for our business and the communities we call home.
Our business is centred on a local approach – we produce locally, distribute locally and where possible, source locally.
Our aspiration is not only to reflect the diversity of the communities where we operate, but also to lead and advocate for a better shared future.
People are at the centre of everything we do, from our employees to those who touch our business to the communities we call home.
Community involvement allows us to bring positive, measurable change to both the communities in which we operate and to our business.
True success is measured not just in volume, but in trust earned, lives supported and communities uplifted.
The Writer is the Managing Director of Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda
