TANZANIA – Coca-Cola Kwanza, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, has committed to empowering 1 000 women this year through education, employability and entrepreneurship programmes as part of its Mwanamke Shujaa campaign.

The campaign, whose title means “A Brave Woman”, supports the theme of International Women’s Day this year, which is #BreaktheBias, by equipping women to take their rightful place as equals in the economy.

Under the pillar of education, Coca-Cola Kwanza will provide girls’ schools with desks to contribute to a conducive studying environment, giving the learners a start towards a fulfilling career.

To this end the company will donate 250 desks to government girls’ schools, providing comfortable seating for 500 students.

For its employability initiative, Coca-Cola Kwanza will include 100 woman graduates in its internship programme.

The young women will receive hands-on skills training to make them workplace ready as part of the Mwanamke Shujaa Future Leaders Programme.

The company will also foster entrepreneurship among women by selecting a group of women involved in recycling and supporting them with resources such as plastic shredding machines and other equipment needed to expand their value chain.

Coca-Cola Kwanza Business Development and Commercial Director Josephine Msalilwa said, “Each decision our company makes is a chance for us to do the right thing. In all our actions, we must be relentlessly self-aware of our role in the world and the impact we can have. Therefore, we must help care for the people and communities we depend on to succeed. 

“Because women are integral to our continent’s shared success, we seek to empower women both in the workplace and through community programmes.”

Yvette Gadi, Campaign Coordinator, said the Mwanamke shujaa campaign was aligned with the priority theme of the 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

It is focused on “Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.”

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa at the forefront in empowering women

Coca-Cola Kwanza Ltd has been involved in various sustainability initiatives that empower women, including the 5by20 Coca-Cola global initiative to provide economic support to 5 million women to run their own businesses in developing countries by 2020.

Meanwhile, its sister company in Ghana, Voltic GH Limited has also held its font on empowering women by joining the non-profit organisation Girls in Science and Technology (GIST) to launch the GIST- University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa chapter.

The programme introduces GIST to woman students at the university and promotes their participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), while sparking their interest in the endless career opportunities available to them.

It also provides mentorship and guidance to girls from elementary school through to various universities.

In South Africa, CCBSA has established a bursary fund at the University of Pretoria to support female students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds in their final year of engineering studies.

Last year, CCBA in Mozambique recruited only female graduates, including in the fields of Mechatronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Transportation, Mechanical Engineering and Informatics and Telecommunication Engineering.

Meanwhile, half the students recruited into CCBA Namibia’s Graduate Internship Training programme were female.

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