Betty Namde is leading consumer planning and insights at Serengeti Breweries Limited (SBL), where she is responsible for understanding consumer behaviour and translating market intelligence into brand and business decisions in Tanzania. She took up the role in March 2026 after nearly two years at Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL), adding another East African market to her experience in beverage marketing and strategy.
Namde’s move comes as beverage companies compete to understand changing consumer preferences, identify growth opportunities and improve the returns on marketing expenditure. Her experience spans consumer research, brand strategy and marketing effectiveness across Diageo’s African operations, giving her a background that connects local market understanding with regional and global decision-making.
Building Brands in Tanzania
At SBL, Namde works across local brands, including Serengeti and TZEE, as well as international spirits brands Johnnie Walker and Black & White. Her responsibilities centre on understanding Tanzania’s consumers and category dynamics, with the aim of using those findings to inform brand positioning, planning and commercial decisions.
The role places consumer insight at the intersection of marketing strategy and business performance. For brewers operating in competitive markets, understanding why consumers choose particular brands, products and occasions can help guide decisions on innovation, communications and investment, although SBL has not disclosed specific targets or commercial outcomes associated with her appointment.
Experience Across East Africa
Before joining SBL, Namde served as Consumer Planning and Marketing Effectiveness Manager at KBL from April 2024 to March 2026. Her work covered identifying category growth opportunities, evaluating marketing performance, managing research partners and translating consumer and cultural insights into brand strategies and execution plans.
She previously spent about 11 months as Global Insight Project Manager at Diageo between May 2023 and March 2024. In that position, she worked on measuring the effectiveness of advertising and promotional investments, coordinating analytical support for global brand teams and training marketing teams in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria and South Africa on marketing effectiveness tools.
From Analysis to Commercial Decisions
Namde began her career in insurance, spending more than seven years at Invesco Assurance Company as a Risk and Compliance (Actuarial) Officer between April 2014 and August 2021. The position involved analysing claims, assessing financial exposure, reviewing product performance and forecasting trends, experience that preceded her transition into consumer planning and marketing analytics.
She subsequently joined KBL as a Consumer Planning Analyst in September 2021, where she assessed consumer behaviour, competitor activity, pricing scenarios and advertising returns. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, alongside a digital marketing programme at Strathmore University in 2025.
