THE Coca-Cola Company and its partners are proud to celebrate exceeding their 5by20
goal by enabling the economic empowerment of more than 6 million women around the
world. About 34% (just over 2 million) of those women enabled by the 5by20 program live and do business in Africa.
The 5by20 goal aimed to assist women entrepreneurs across the Coca-Cola value chain –
agricultural producers, suppliers, distributors, retailers, recyclers, and artisans –
overcome challenges when establishing and growing their business.
The Coca-Cola Foundation has funded some of the 5by20 initiatives, and the Coca-Cola
system has worked with several partners to implement over 300 programs in 100
countries to provide women entrepreneurs with business skills training, mentoring
networks, financial services, and other assets to help enhance their businesses and lives, as well as provide more for their families.
Women’s empowerment and progress against all the Sustainable Development Goals
require the collective effort of governments, civil society, NGOs and private sector
organisations. Over the last 10 years, Coca-cola worked with countless partners who
helped bring the aspiration to life. Partnerships with organisations, such as UN Women,
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Women Enterprise Fund (WEF), Department
for International Development (DFID), USAID, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
MercyCorps, TechnoServe, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hand in Hand Southern
Africa, and several other regional and local partners were critical to the success of the
5by20 program.
In 2012, the Coca-Cola Company signed a global agreement with UN Women to enable
the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs in three pilot countries, which
included South Africa. At the end of the four-year partnership in South Africa in
December 2016, over 25 000 women micro-entrepreneurs had received business skills,
leadership training, mentoring, and peer networking skills as well as access to finance.
Kennedy School Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, through this program, the
entrepreneurs increased their revenues by 40% on average and increased their confidence and leadership abilities within their communities. In Kenya, a partnership with the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) established in 2014 and rooted in a shared interest in creating a fair equitable environment to help women overcome barriers and build sustainable businesses, aimed to empower 1 million women through entrepreneurship training and access to capital investment.
At the end of 2020, nearly 800 000 Kenyan women were empowered through the initiative.In Nigeria, in partnership with the UK Department for International Development GirlsEducation, we launched the Educating Nigerian Girls in Nigeria Enterprise (ENGINE)value program, which aimed to strengthen the educational and economic opportunities of the Nigerian girl-child. Nearly 13 000 young girls and women benefitted from this program.
We also entered into a partnership with the Lagos State Government
Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) to train 1 000 women in Lagos state on financial
literacy and communications skills. “[On] this International Women’s Day, we celebrate
surpassing our goal to reach 5 million women, but we know that there is still work to be
done,” said Patricia Obozuwa, Vice President: Public Affairs, Communication, and
Sustainability Coca-Cola Africa.
“Women entrepreneurs continue to face major hurdles hindering their successes, and we
acknowledge that our work must therefore continue, particularly given the significant
socio-economic disruption created by the pandemic in so many communities around the
world”.
The Coca-Cola Company is a global organization but a local business and deeply rooted in
the local communities we proudly serve. We thrive as communities prosper and numerous studies from the United Nations and academic institutions have repeatedly proven that investment in women spurs economic growth and promotes sustainable development.
“By investing in women’s economic empowerment over the past decade, we have created
shared value in hopes of a better-shared future, enabling improved livelihoods for women, their families, and their communities, while inclusively expanding our business,” said Obozuwa.
“We are proud about the ripple effects that these programs have had on the millions of
lives we have touched and will continue to have over the years to come.”
Source: The Guardian
