Magazine / Dec 2014 9
The 5by20 initiative, Coca-Cola’s global commitment to enable the economic empowerment of 5 million women entrepreneurs across the company’s value chain by 2020.
The informal sector accounts for up to 80 % of Coca-Cola’s retail base in many countries and, like in Nigeria, women can account for up to 70% of these retailers. They are the HEART of the community and empowering them is the most direct way to raise the community’s living standards.
5BY20 aims to address common barriers that women entrepreneurs face, including infrastructure, safety and security and access to credit, by enabling them to start or expand their businesses. The initiative provides access to Business Skills Training; Financial Services & Assets; and Peer Networks, helping these women entrepreneurs to make their businesses more successful and sustainable.
The MDC or Micro Distribution Centre forms part of this approach and is a business model developed by The Coca-Cola Company and implemented throughout Africa. In some countries the MDCs support up to 80% of the local distribution of coca cola products. The centres are administered by independent entrepreneurs, increasingly women, who distribute the beverages, often on foot, to small, hard-to-reach geographical areas
In Lagos and Abuja, IT’S AFRICA’S TIME” meets with some of the remarkable women who have excelled under the guidance of the 5by20 training and support; and learns how their growing business have enabled them to build betters lives for their families.
According to Ben Langat, Managing Director of the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited, Coca-Cola sole bottler in Nigeria, “women form the very strong bedrock of economic activity which is the foundation by which homes are growing in Africa. This has a big economic impact on families, a big health impact on families and an impact on the education of their children and the overall wellbeing of society in Nigeria”
“Beyond the impact on their businesses and their finances, we find that as individuals, the woman become even more confident. They can contribute not only in terms of finances but in terms of decision making in their households and in their communities as well. So they become more productive and more representative members of communities,” says Clem Ugorji, Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited
Empowering Women Entreprenuers in Nigeria