The Coca-Cola Company pledges to empower 5 million women entrepreneurs by 2020

Coca-Cola Announces “5 BY 20”, An Ambitious Goal to Empower Women Entrepreneurs Across the World. At a plenary session on empowering women at the Clinton Global Initiative, Muhtar Kent, chairman and chief executive officer of  The Coca-Cola Company, today pledged to empower 5 million women entrepreneurs throughout Coca-Cola’s global business system by 2020. This pledge builds upon a commitment made by The Coca-Cola Company in 2008 to the United Nations “Business Call to Action” to grow the Company’s Micro Distribution Centers (MDCs) in Africa. MDCs are an independent network of entrepreneurs who distribute Coca-Cola’s beverage products to retailers, often by bicycle or pushcart. At last year’s Clinton Global Initiative, the Company committed that 50% of all new MDCs would be run by women. The Company is well on track to achieve both targets as part of its commitments to the UN Millennium Development Goals. “Our experience on the great continent of Africa and the model of our existing MDC program provides an expanded platform to empower an additional five million women worldwide over the next ten years. We need to increase awareness that better societies can be created as a result of empowering women,” Mr. Kent said. Research conducted by the Harvard Kennedy School and engagement with local stakeholders on Coca-Cola’s MDC business in Africa indicates that women face three main barriers to success: 1) Lack of access to finance; 2) Lack of business skills training; and 3) Lack of access to mentors and networks of peers. The Company plans to conduct further research with potential partners to better understand how to empower women across its global system. Image: i.ytimg.com. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: Global | Company: The Coca-Cola Company | Source: The Coca-Cola Company