Catalyst for Change—a Coca-Cola Foundation Women Empowerment Initiative, has partnered with a local NGO partner—Karis and Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation, to successfully empower another batch of 1,000 women in Alimosho, Lagos State.
The initiative has now impacted over 10,000 women and has reached 10 communities altogether. 200 of the almost 2000 women who got start-up kits at the Alimosho closing ceremony received them to help them launch their small companies. The effort focused on giving them commercial and vocational skills to assist them escape marginalization and poverty.
One of Coca-many Cola’s programs aimed at empowering women and fostering youth development is the Catalyst for Change Scheme, which teaches women basic trade skills like baking, shoemaking, fashion designing, makeup application, wig making, tie-dying, and bag making. Some participants are also given financial literacy and business management lessons on bookkeeping, personal and product branding, social media management, and other topics.
Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, the Director of Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability at Coca-Cola Nigeria, says that the program’s beneficiaries are expected to use the skills they learn to not only improve their own economic situation but also to make a meaningful contribution to the nation’s economic growth.
As evidenced by the company’s new Africa sustainability platform, JAMII, which focuses on waste management, water stewardship, and wealth creation for women and youths, she emphasized that the company continues to place a strong emphasis on the empowerment of women because it believes that women are pillars of society and community.
She said, “The goal of the just concluded Catalyst for Change 2.0 programme was to integrate underserved women into a growth trajectory that generates value for their families and society and The Coca-Cola System is thrilled about the outcomes and impact stories so far. I am confident that this batch of beneficiaries will attain an even better degree of achievement as they launch out with the skills and support received through the programme”.
Founder, Karis and Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation, Bukola Bamiduro, advised the beneficiaries to continuously create value in their communities through the application and transmission of knowledge while uplifting themselves and others, thereby leading to the formation of a cycle of transgenerational businesses.
Bamiduro said, “The last 10 months have been exciting for us. This is a mini-closing ceremony for Alimosho but this also marks the end of Catalyst for Change 2.0. We have seen the income of our beneficiaries move from $1 per day to $10 per day”.
She praised The Coca-Cola Foundation for providing financial assistance for the project and expressed hope to keep hearing motivational tales from the numerous recipients in the ten towns served by the Catalyst for Change program.
Nofisat Adenike, a beneficiary from the Alausa neighborhood, highlighted how the Catalyst for Change 2.0 program has altered her perspective on life and business as she has progressed to start her own baking company. The women who have completed the program continue to have success stories like these, and they have benefited greatly from the knowledge and motivation of their facilitators and coaches.
For Coca-Cola, women empowerment and bridging the gap of opportunities are essential for achieving an inclusive and sustainable society positioned for economic growth. Since 1984, The Coca-Cola Company has contributed more than $1.2 billion to help empower women, protect the environment, and enhance communities, socially and economically, around the world.
