Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, a joint-venture of SABMiller’s non-alcoholic beverage business with those of The Coca-Cola Company and Gutsche Family Investments (owners of Coca-Cola SABCO) officially opened for business on Saturday.

The new company had gained all necessary approvals from the South African regulatory authorities just last month but the venture was first announced in November 2014.

Since the initial announcement, SABMiller has been acquired by its bigger rival Anheuser Busch InBev (AB InBev) in a deal worth $108bn . While the deal is still pending as AB InBev seeks regulatory approval in different jurisdictions across the globe, the South African regulators hammered out a deal which would require AB InBev to keep the operations of its Coca-Cola bottling operations in Africa separate from its Pepsi operations in Latin America.

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa would produce and distribute approximately 40% of all Coca-Cola beverage volumes in Africa and would be the 10th largest Coca-Cola bottler in the world, a statement from the company read.

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa CEO Doug Jackson, who was appointed in May, said: “The creation of CCBA will provide a stronger, more successful Coca-Cola system in Africa and create greater shared value for the business and the communities we serve across the value-chain, including local suppliers and retailers.”

The new company will initially serve 11 high-growth countries, but will eventually increase to 14 countries. The countries are South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Ghana, Mayotte, Comoros and Nigeria. Botswana, Swaziland and Zambia are expected to join CCBA in the next 12 to 18 months.