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Cameroon |
ECONOMY
For the last twenty years, Cameroon’s economy has been in a sad state.
The story of the Nouvelles Brasseries Africaine is just one example of what’s been happeningThe vast buildings of the Nouvelles Brasseries Africaines (NOBRA) in Douala are now standing idle and abandoned. The original intention was to set up a pan-African brewing industry, but what happened? After only six years, the initial ambitions were frustrated when the Cameroonian government and foreign partners from Denmark, Belgium and Switzerland stepped in and literally wiped out the NOBRA company.
Here’s more details. In 1978, Pierre Tchanque, a former state inspector of finance and a senior chartered accountant, came up with the idea of creating NOBRA. He’d just returned to Cameroon following a series of studies in business management in France. He wanted to make his mark in Africa’s economic development by creating a number of industries and individual companies. When it first got off the ground NOBRA attracted 200 businessmen. At that time, the only local brewery in Cameroon was Les Brasseries du Cameroun, in which Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, had a number of shares. NOBRA thus had its work cut out to compete and make its presence felt.
Initially, some 12.5 billion CFA francs were earmarked for NOBRA‘s take-off. Important technical studies in the ups and downs of the brewing industry were absolutely necessary, and Belgium’s Stella Artois was called in to undertake the job. This entailed 35% of the NOBRA‘s operating capital being syphoned off to pay for Stella Artois’ services. With such an enormous stakehold, the Belgian brewery firm did its utmost to eject Pierre Tchanque from his general management position, but the plot failed and the Belgians withdrew to the sideline and waited.
Financial hiccups
In 1982, NOBRA began production but construction of its buildings meant an additional 1.5 billion CFA francs were needed for completion, so Tchanqué issued more shares, increasing the company’s capital by 1.8 billion CFA francs. However, not all shareholders were satisfied with the way things were going, especially as they noted that Les Brasseries du Cameroun had intensified its distribution network by means of door-to-door sales’ techniques. Also, most of their drinks were now marketed in plastic bottles. SOCAVER, the distribution company used by NOBRA for marketing its drinks, could not cope with this competition.
NOBRA had to raise more capital somehow in order to compete. In fact, 1.2 billion CFA francs were needed for the purchase of trucks and cars, and the construction of four other distribution warehouses in Yaounde and Douala to as to be nearer potential consumers.
All this meant that NOBRA found itself head-over-heals in debt for money owing and crippling bank charges. In its first year of operations, NOBRA had a bank overdraft of 200 million CFA francs, mainly for the purchase of raw materials and office material. Shareholders said this was not reasonable.
Matters went from bad to worse. NOBRA had to borrow heavily from several commercial banks in order to keep afloat. Shareholders began to question the management techniques of the founder and general manager, Pierre Tchanqué. To try and get out of his financial mess and using his personal money, he bought a plot of land at Bonadibong (Douala) for the construction of NOBRA‘s head office. Tchanqué’s bankers warned him that such a move will plunge NOBRA into a financial quagmire. They advised him to collaborate with the French Kronembourg brewery in order to assure his company’s future.
Kronembourg laid down stringent conditions including specifying that one of the five NOBRA drinks marketed should be Kronenbourg. Tchanqué eventually decided not to «go in» with Kronemburg and once again took on board the services of Stella Artois to be in charge of commercial activities.
To cut a long story short, Tchanqué eventually broke away from Stella Artois and on the advice of his bankers decided to collaborate with a technical partner called CEREKAM industries based in Denmark which would effectively exercise management control. A «full management» contract was signed in favour of the Danes, who ejected Tchanqué from the daily management of the company.
In November 1986, Pierre Tchanqué was appointed president of the Cameroon Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines. From a distance, he was able to observe the downwards trend of his brainchild. By 1987, salaries were not regularly paid, and there were cutbacks in the workforce. By February 1988, the Danes admitted to a negative balance sheet in NOBRA‘s affairs.
The end of the road for NOBRA was not far off. Shareholders decided to sell-off the brewery. Canada Dry eventually took a lease on the buildings to distil their own brand of gin, but this project also was ended after a few years of operation.
And NOBRA‘s buildings are still standing idle and abandoned!
- Charles Nji, Cameroon, August 2003 — © Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment