Everyone loves a success story and it is always so heartwarming when we get to witness big business making a commitment to small business. In that arena, there are very few programs as awesome as the global commitment campaign, 5by20, from the Coca-Cola Company. As the name, 5by20, clearly indicates, through this program Coca-Cola Company plans to serve over 5 million women micro-entrepreneurs by providing them with crucial business assistance by the year 2020. Hence, 5 By 20!
All around the world, women have played an essential role in the business community. However, just because they have been a visible influence and driving force, that doesn’t mean that it’s been an easy journey for them. Here’s where the Coca-Cola Company comes in. While women have done an excellent job with the resources they have, through the 5by20 program they now have access to financial services, mentors, business training courses, and a support system of colleagues and peers. Female micro-entrepreneurs from over 200 countries around the world will be the recipients of this amazing assistance.
Launched in 2010, the Coca-Cola Company has key partnerships with such great organization such as TechnoServe, UN Women, IFC (International Finance Group), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mercy Corp, and IDB (Inter-American Development Bank). Thanks to this collaborative effort, 44 countries currently have a 5by20 program in place. This outreach to female business owners is a humanitarian effort of grand proportion. The hard working women are being provided this great opportunity that will help to break down the barriers that have often kept them from achieving business success. However, it’s not only the women who benefit; the communities and the people within them are reaping the real rewards. This short video gives us a glimpse into the lives that have been touched in so many positive ways. Take a moment to watch it so you can experience, through media, the impact that is being felt by the 5by20 program.
While the video showcases the brick and mortar businesses, those are not the only female micro-entrepreneurs who are served by this program. For example: in China, Haiti, India, Kenya, and Uganda, the program is assisting with women run farming initiatives. And in Austria, Brazil, Great Britain, Mexico, Philippines, Turkey, and Uganda, the program is working with artisans by providing design and marketing expertise that will help them in their business endeavors.
At the start of 2014, 21,000 women retailers were reached in the Philippines along with 47,000 women in Brazil, 22,000 in South Africa, 13,000 in Mexico, 24,000 in Kenya and Uganda, and 1,000 in India. WOW, those are staggering statistics. While numbers are very impressive, the truly impressive facts come from the real stories of lives that were touched, successes that were achieved, and generations of families’ lives that will be forever changed.
Carolina, from Mexico, was able to put her son through college from her earning after participating in 5by20.
Elizabeth, in South Africa, had an amazing 300% profit increase at her store located in Johannesburg.
Bernardita, who is the 77 year old shopkeeper from the Philippines, can now support 4 generations of family members on the income her shop brings in.
Mama Njerl, from Kenya, is now running a 25 acre mango farm and has significantly increased her crop production, after training and mentoring from the 5by20 program.
Preeti, from India, is thankful for the new solar powered energy that helps to run her coolers which in turn has helped to increase her income by 300%.
Artisans who have participated in this program have seen an average of a 30% increase in income.
And, an amazing 700 families are supported by Regina’s recycling business in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Most of the business programs provided for the women run over the course of a 12 week period and provide them with the necessary and valuable information that they may have not received without this program. The training is followed by continual access to peer support and mentors to assure the women have the opportunity to experience ongoing success.
This is not the first global initiative that the Coca-Cola Company has embarked on. From the inception of the company, you will find many programs that have supported communities around the globe such as Project Rain which will bring clean water to 2 million people in Africa. They have also made a commitment to safely return to communities and nature an amount of water equal to what they use in their finished beverages and their production. This commitment also has a goal date of 2020.
It is easy to see that the Coca-Cola Company has come a long way since it was first served at Jacobs’ Pharmacy in 1886; from only 9 drinks a day being sold way back then to millions of lives being changed all around the world today through their global economic empowerment program, 5by20. The world’s most popular soft drink company is a shining example and is certainly doing their part to make our world a better place.
Thank you Coca-Cola!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxsTIcqI8pY
