Coca-Cola’s global commitment strikes in Polokwane

WOMEN from Polokwane and the surrounding area who are in small business received certificates for their participation in the Coca-Cola Company’s 5by20 initiative on Friday.

The certificates were handed out in cooperation with KPMG.The Coca-Cola Company’s global commitment, 5by20, enables the economic empowerment of five million women entrepreneurs across this company’s value chain by 2020.

Coca-Cola works with small businesses in over 200 countries, from fruit farmers to artisans, and is the initiative aims to help women overcome the barriers they face to achieve success in their businesses.

The 5by20 Coca-Cola campaign is proud to afford millions of women the opportunity to build their businesses, support their families and build their communities, while inspiring many other women to do the same.

With this initiative, the Coca-Cola Company believes there is no better investment than women to spur on economic growth and help foster sustainable development. Women are seen as pillars of their communities, the same communities in which Coca-Cola does business, and they are critical to local and global business success, an essential cornerstone for the Coca-Cola Company’s 2020 vision.

The Coca-Cola Company states that statistics have shown that women are much more likely to reinvest their income in food, education and healthcare for their children and families. Women control in the region of $20 trillion spending worldwide, which represents an economic impact larger than the US, China and India combined.

Since the establishment of the 5by20 initiative in 2010, the Coca-Cola Company has developed and implemented programmes that address the barriers that prevent women entrepreneurs from succeeding in the marketplace.

The 5by20 initiative assists by increasing access to:

• Business skills courses.

• Financial services and assets.

• Networking with peers or mentors.

The Coca-Cola Company works with key partners to build on the best practises in the Coca-Cola business system worldwide and on the valuable insights and programmes its partners bring to the table, which encourages innovation, scale-up and replication.

There are currently, according to the Coca-Cola Company, 5by20 programmes in more than 40 countries, which includes South Africa.