Economic Empowerment
Source: BusinessDay
Coca-Cola Nigeria, as part of a landmark $100 million agreement signed on Monday between the Coca-Cola Company and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will provide financing to women micro-distributors in the company's value chain.
The agreement, signed in Atlanta, USA, between both global giants, provides for a three-year joint initiative to provide access to finance for women entrepreneurs in developing markets across Eurasia and Africa. Nigeria has been allocated $22 million (about N3.5 billion) from this grant. In Nigeria, Coca-Cola and IFC are working with Access Bank to provide financing to women micro-distributors (MDCs), in close collaboration with Coca-Cola's bottling partner, the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC).
The collaboration builds on the synergies between Coca-Cola's 5by20 Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative and IFC's Banking on Women Program to help address barriers women entrepreneurs commonly face in some of the world's poorest countries. IFC will work through its network of local and regional banking institutions to provide financing and business skills training to small and medium sized businesses that are owned or operated by women entrepreneurs across the Coca-Cola value chain.
Speaking on the empowerment initiative in Nigeria, Clem Ugorji, Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria, said: "Work related to this initiative is already beginning in Nigeria. Coca-Cola and IFC are working with Access Bank to provide up to $22 million financing to women micro-distributors (MDCs) in the Coca-Cola value chain, in close collaboration with Coca-Cola's bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company."
In his own reaction to the development, Nathan Kalumbu, President of Eurasia and Africa Group, The Coca-Cola Company, said: "Women entrepreneurs make significant contributions to emerging and developing economies; yet have lower access to finance than their male counterparts. By providing greater access to capital, we are investing in our own success and the success of the communities we serve. We are excited about this opportunity to harness the collective power of our organizations to positively impact women in Eurasia and Africa."
Explaining why the IFC decided to partner with Coca-Cola on this, James Scriven, IFC Director of Financial Markets, said: "Women entrepreneurs represent significant untapped economic potential in developing countries – they are essential for creating jobs and achieving sustainable growth. This innovative partnership with Coca-Cola will help expand access to finance for thousands of women who are part of the company's supply and distribution chain." Ugorji commended the IFC for supporting Coca-Cola in empowering women and urged women entrepreneurs to take advantage of the initiative to be better positioned in national development. "Every economically disadvantaged woman who manages against all odds to become a successful entrepreneur is to be celebrated because she has created a brighter future for herself, her children, her neighbors and the world that we all share," he said.