South Africa: Craft brewer Drifter Brewing raises more than a million rand through crowdfunding for global expansion

South Africa’s Drifter Brewing Company have raised more than a million rand through equity crowdfunding on Uprise.Africa, according to SME South Africa.

Drifter Brewing Company, manufacturers of craft beer, started a crowdfunding campaign to speed up expansion and push their business into the global market. The craft beer company is looking to raise R3 million locally.

Potential investors will have an opportunity to own equity in the business as well share in the craft beer company's future growth potential.

Nicholas Bush is the company’s founder and head brewer and the name of the company comes from a yacht that his parents built in the late 70's.

The company was founded in 2015 and craft beer varieties like The Stranded Coconut and The Legend Lager.

The company is situated in Woodstock, Cape Town. Drifter Brewing Company have their own manufacturing facility, a tasting room and a space for events.

Their model has been successful with the craft beer company already taking market share from the larger beer brands and has a 120% revenue growth over the past three years.

At the moment Drifter distributes to more than 360 stores in South Africa and exports to countries like Zimbabwe and Namibia.

They have also acquired partnerships in the United States to start exporting their beer to Texas, Florida and Washington DC. The have also built relationships for future exports to Europe and Asia.

The investment will be used to increase production and shelf life of their brew as well as upscale their production capacity in order to transform their current facility onto a world class brewing hub.

They also plan on launching Drifter bars that will serve their speciality brew.