Founded on 23 October 1923 as the Brasserie de Léopoldville, it is one of the oldest and most prominent industrial enterprises in Central Africa.[2][5] The company became part of Heineken N.V. in 1986, which serves as its majority shareholder and strategic parent.[6][7] BRALIMA operates six breweries located in Kinshasa, Bukavu, Kisangani, Boma, Mbandaka, and Lubumbashi, and is known for its flagship Primuslager.[2][5] As one of the country's largest formal-sector employers, BRALIMA had a total revenue of CDF 249.84 billion as of 2019, an operating income of CDF 24.29 billion, and total assets valued at CDF 102.62 billion.[7]
BRALIMA's primary focus is the production and commercialization of a variety of beverages, including beer, soft drinks, bottled water, and ice blocks.[5] The company plays an active role in reducing unemployment by creating job opportunities and making its products widely available to consumers. It also supports the national economy through its tax contributions.[5]
Headquarters and branch structure
The Kinshasa headquarters serves as the central hub for overseeing and coordinating BRALIMA's operations across all its branches. It receives strategic directives and goals from Heineken N.V. and communicates these to the regional branches in Bukavu, Kisangani, Boma, Mbandaka, and Lubumbashi.[5] After receiving the corporate objectives, the Kinshasa headquarters ensures they are shared with all internal departments.[5] Each BRALIMA branch is structured around the following key departments:
Responsible for decision-making and strategic management of the branch. Coordinates all departments and services at the head office.
Human resources dept.
Responsible for recruiting and managing staff. It also provides training for employees, monitors their social and working conditions, maintains discipline, and handles public relations for the company.
South Kivu DistrictThe districts are managed by the department head, and they are further subdivided into sectors, each managed by sector heads. Their role is to ensure the sales and product promotion.
Finance dept.
Manages company assets and includes an accounting unit that prepares the financial elements to be included in BRALIMA Congo's balance sheet. It also manages relationships with banks, tax declarations, and other financial reporting.
Subdivided into:
General accounting
Client accounting
Supplier accounting
Cash accounting and payroll
Technical dept.
Responsible for machine maintenance and repairs.
Divided into:
Planned maintenance
Machine room
Garage
Medical dept.
Created to provide healthcare for employees and their families. Its mission is solely to provide medical care for BRALIMA employees and their legally recognized dependents.
Quality and technology dept.
Ensures that beer and soft drinks meet international standards to guarantee the health of consumers.
Manufacturing dept.
Transforms raw materials (malt, rice, sugar, chemicals) into finished products. Its primary task is to produce beer and make it available for distribution.
Includes two main services:
Brewing room (mixing and cooking)
Fermentation cellar (fermentation, cooling, and beer filtration)
Bottling dept.
Bottles beverages coming from the fermentation cellar and soft drink production line.
During the colonial era, traditional alcoholic drinks were the only beverages consumed in the Belgian Congo. Seeking to stimulate economic development and investment, Belgian colonists decided to establish a local brewing industry.[5] With financial backing from the Société Congolaise de Banque, investors founded a brewery on 23 October 1923, in Léopoldville (present-day Kinshasa) under the name Brasserie de Léopoldville, with an initial capital of 4,000,000 Congolese francs.[5][2][6] Shortly thereafter, the company was renamed Brasserie, Limonaderie et Malterie (abbreviated as BRALIMA).[5] As noted by Congolese writer Pascal Ndegeyi Murhula, BRALIMA's establishment was intended to counteract the popularity of indigenous alcoholic beverages, which were distilled and fermented "under questionable hygienic conditions".[3] Three years later, on 26 December 1926, the brewery launched its first beer, Primus, which was initially unpasteurized, producing about 5,000 bottles monthly.[5] However, between 1926 and 1933, BRALIMA faced financial hardship due to the Great Depression of 1929, which led to a decline in the international value of its products. During this time, Primus faced competition from imported beers and was unpopular among locals due to its higher price and government restrictions on beer sales. Distribution was also limited to urban areas.[3]
By 1934, production had doubled to 10,000 bottles per month, salaries had increased, and a pasteurizer was installed to extend the shelf life. By 1936, output had climbed to 35,000 bottles per month.[5] Following the Second World War, under "Mr. Viser" leadership, the brewery expanded during an economic boom in the DRC. Stakeholders were more likely to invest, and BRALIMA decided to implement a decentralized structure.[5][3] Between 1950 and 1992, BRALIMA established several branches: Bukavu (1950), Brazzaville (1952), Kisangani (1957), Kigali (1957), Boma (1958), Mbandaka (1972), Gisenyi (1972), and Lubumbashi (1992).[5][3] In 1973, BRALIMA launched a modernization drive that included constructing a Steinecker stainless-steel brewhouse as part of a long-term development program.[7] The 1986 expansion of this facility added twelve fermentation tanks, each with a 250,000-liter capacity, along with a modern filtration system, a sterile water treatment plant, and labeling equipment capable of handling 24,000 bottles per hour.[7]
Since 1986, the company has been majority-owned by Heineken N.V., which has allowed BRALIMA to maintain its position as a dominant player in the national brewing sector.[5] Heineken N.V. also owns the Kinshasa Bottling Company (Bouteillerie de Kinshasa; BOUKIN), whose plant began operations in 1948 and produced its first bottle on 31 January 1950. The company became part of Heineken N.V.'s portfolio in 1987.[3] In 1992, Heineken N.V. further expanded its presence through the acquisition and merger of the Industrial Soft Drinks Company (Compagnie Industrielle des Boissons; CIB) with BRALIMA. It also acquired the shares of CIB–Coca-Cola (Compagnie Industrielle des Boissons–Coca-Cola), which produced Coca-Cola beverages under license from the Coca-Cola Company and received financial backing from SODELEAU Bruxelles.[3] This acquisition was officially ratified by Ordinance-Law No. 78/471, dated 26 December of the same year, under which President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire consolidated several Congolese beverage producers into a single corporation. The merged entities included the Compagnie Katangaise des Boissons (Katanga Beverage Company) based in Lubumbashi, Boisson de Matadi (Matadi Beverages) in Matadi, Compagnie Industrielle des Boissons (Industrial Beverage Company) in Boma, Compagnie Africaine des Boissons Gazeuses (African Soft Drink Company) in Kisangani, and Compagnie Congolaise des Boissons (Congolese Beverage Company) in Kinshasa.[3]
Heineken N.V. acquired the Unibra plant in Kisangani, which was officially integrated into BRALIMA-Kisangani on 21 June 1996.[7] BRALIMA has attracted scrutiny for alleged links with corrupt political figures and rebel leaders involved in the country's prolonged conflict.[8] Due to instability across several regions, BRALIMA employs Top SIG, a private security firm affiliated with Saracen International, to protect its operations.[2][6] During the M23 campaign in early 2025, "armed personnel" seized BRALIMA's sites in Bukavu and Goma. Before the conflict reached Goma and Bukavu, BRALIMA halted its operations and provided resources to enable employees to remain safely at home, with routine check-ins.[9] On 15 February, after the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the Congolese National Police, widespread looting erupted in Bukavu, affecting multiple organizations, including BRALIMA, whose depots and brewery suffered extensive damage and theft of stock, materials, and equipment.[9] On 20 February, the Uvira depot was also plundered by military and militia groups. However, no employees or their families were harmed, although operations remain suspended in Goma, Bukavu, and the surrounding areas.[9]
Between 2016 and 2019, BRALIMA maintained a stable financial position characterized by a substantial equity base and prudent liquidity practices. The company's assets grew steadily, as fixed assets rose from approximately 36.0 billion CDF in 2016 to over 52.6 billion CDF in 2019, while total assets expanded from 78.1 billion CDF to nearly 102.6 billion CDF.[7] Throughout the same period, BRALIMA's working capital (fonds de roulement) remained in surplus, rising from 8.17 billion CDF to 21.46 billion CDF. Operating profitability (rendement d'exploitation) advanced consistently, with returns on employed capital fluctuating between 13% and 29% and averaging around 15% annually.[7] Financial profitability (rentabilité financière), measured through return on investment (ROI), also showed improvement, increasing from 4% in 2016 to 18% in 2019. Commercially, BRALIMA's total revenue was primarily driven by beverage production volumes, with only a minor decline in 2018 due to reduced merchandise sales.[7]
12345Muleb Mong, Didier (2014). "L'analyse comparative de financement d'un projet d'investissement des deux produits"[Comparative analysis of financing for an investment project of the two products] (in French). Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Institut Supérieur d'Études Sociales de Lubumbashi (ISES-Lubumbashi). Retrieved 8 November 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Aftertax:CDF:24.29 billion (2019). [1] 
