The Coca-Cola Company’s global program, 5by20, saw its second phase launch in Khulna and Bagerhat. The program, which seeks to empower 5 million women economically worldwide by 2020, was adapted into the Women Business Centre program in Bangladesh.
The first Phase, which was launched in Jamalpur in 2015 with 10 Women Business Centres, helped train 10,125 women beneficiaries on agricultural production, marketing services, mobile and computer services, and basic healthcare last year.
The Women Business Centre project aims to address common barriers women face in the marketplace by providing access to business skills training, market information, agriculture training and inputs, mobile banking assistance, healthcare inputs and counselling, mentoring and networking opportunities. The groups of 5 women entrepreneurs running each WBC in each village are provided seed capital for setting up the Centre, and skill-based training on the aforementioned fields, and assets for the Centre. The initiative in Bangladesh is implemented by Concern Universal, a nonprofit organization.
The success of first phase was driven by women entrepreneurs, who worked as change agents to empower more rural women. They reached out to the extended groups of women in the same and neighbouring villages and trained them on income generating skills. Additionally, they provided many of the services that these women required apart from being instrumental in the establishment of active women groups.
Sumanta Datta, Vice President, Operations & Customer Leadership at Coca-Cola said “Coca-Cola started its 5by20 program as a global commitment to enable the economic empowerment of 5 million women entrepreneurs across the company’s value chain. It has been our endeavour to address the common barriers women face when trying to succeed in the marketplace by designing workshops that best benefit skills development and entrepreneurial capacity enhancement. The success of the first phase of this program is owed to the efforts of the women entrepreneurs and our partner Concern Universal. It tells me a lot about the enterprising spirit of Bangladeshi women”
Ishteyaque Amjad, Vice President, Public Affairs & Communications added, “At 36% workforce participation, Bangladeshi women are doing better than most South Asian countries. However, women workers continue to face harder obstacles, from balancing work and family to accessing financing, often arising from a lack of training and confidence. In partnership with Concern Universal, we have tried to bank on the potential of disenfranchised women globally by providing relevant skills training to rural women through WBC. The success of the First phase tells us that we are ready and equipped to take on the challenge of the second phase”
James Treasure-Evans, International Programmes and Policy Manager, Concern Universal commented regarding the partnership, “I am thankful to Coca-Cola Bangladesh for a successful and fruitful partnership with Concern Universal to undertake such an ambitious project as the Women Business Centres. While NGOs generally spearhead development work, they often do not have the means and resources to carry out their projects sustainably. This is why engaging corporations with the public and non-profit sectors to find common solutions to problems makes for a successful partnership which the First phase of our project has shown. I look forward to this continued partnership as we roll on to the second phase of this project.”
The 5by20 program reaffirms Coca-Cola’s commitment to inclusive growth and development by serving the larger societal need of empowering women and promoting inclusivity. By providing access to business skills, financial services, assets and a support network of peers and mentors, this program aims to help empower women to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams, while also creating thriving, sustainable communities. Key partners for the global initiative includes UN Women, IFC, Techno Serve, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IDB and Mercy Corps, among many other NGOs.
