BY: TANA MALINGA
South African Breweries (SAB), in partnership with Henley Business School Africa, has launched the SAB Retailer University, an innovative business development programme aimed at strengthening local entrepreneurship and supporting sustainable economic growth.
The initiative is designed to equip local retailers with essential business skills, practical tools and strategic insight needed to build competitive and responsible businesses. Through this programme, SAB further reinforces its role as a trusted partner to retailers while demonstrating its long-term commitment to developing South Africa’s small business sector.
Running over a period of 12 months, the programme blends structured in-person learning with practical assignments and personalised guidance. The curriculum focuses on key business areas such as financial management, operational efficiency, marketing strategy and leadership development, all crucial for building resilient and scalable enterprises.
Henley Business School Africa, part of the globally respected University of Reading in the United Kingdom, brings internationally accredited academic expertise to the programme. Participants will receive high-quality executive education aligned with higher education standards and will earn a recognised certificate upon successful completion.
SAB has fully invested in the programme to ensure that selected retailers can access this premium learning opportunity without financial barriers. The first cohort includes 30 established retailers from across South Africa, each with more than a decade of business experience and a strong track record of community impact.
SAB Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Zoleka Lisa, highlighted the importance of retailers within the country’s economy, noting that they create employment opportunities, support local participation and strengthen community ties. She added that Retailer University is an investment in the people who drive the beer industry and local economies.
By strengthening leadership capability, financial discipline and operational performance, the programme aims to help retailers expand sustainably, create jobs and build stronger businesses within their communities.
The first group of participants began the programme in February 2026 at Henley Business School Africa’s campus, marking an important step in SAB’s mission to build a more inclusive, resilient and thriving retail sector in South Africa.
IMAGE SUPPLIED
About SAB
The South African Breweries (SAB) has reimagined what a beer company can be and has anchored this in a powerful brand purpose – We Dream Big to Create a Future With More Cheers. At SAB it’s always about more than the beer. We are driven by our passion to demonstrate the unique power of beer to propel South Africa forward. Since our inception over 130 years ago, SAB has grown to become South Africa’s largest brewer, a powerful economic contributor, a leader in sustainability, and a champion of responsible consumption. SAB is one of South Africa’s admired companies and corporate brands. The company operates 7 breweries and 42 depots in South Africa, a total workforce of approximately 5,000, and supports a beer economy ‘from seed to sip’ of over 250,000 jobs. Its portfolio of beer brands meets the needs of a wide range of consumers and includes leading brands in beer and beyond such as Castle Lager, Castle Free, Carling Black Label, Corona, Brutal Fruit, and Flying Fish.
About Henley Business School Africa
Henley Business School is a leading global business school and the first in Africa to be quadruple accredited by the leading UK, European, US and African accrediting bodies: AMBA, EQUIS, AACSB and AABS. Part of the University of Reading, UK, Henley has been active in Africa for three decades and is an emerging powerhouse of African business knowledge, defined by its top-ranked Executive MBA and executive education programmes – ranked 33rd and in the top 25 respectively in the latest Financial Times rankings – its strong ties to African business, its commitment to transformation and development, and its innovative, flexible approach to management education. Henley holds a level 1 BBBEE status and has been rated by corporates for eight years running as the #1 MBA business school in South Africa (PMR.africa 2018-2025). PMR.africa has also ranked Henley Africa as the #1 business school in South Africa for Executive Education (2025). Offering qualifications from post-matric to doctoral level, Henley’s vision is: we build the people, who build the businesses, that build Africa.
