Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and its bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company, today announced its support of eight local NGOs through grants awarded by The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF), the primary international philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company.
Speaking on this development, the Director, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, explained, “Coca-Cola remains committed to uplifting Nigerians and creating an ecosystem of sustainable economic growth in our communities. As with previous years, we are excited to see how much impact our partnerships will yield through these projects as we hope to create a better shared future for all”.
Organisations set to benefit from the awarded grants include Statewide Waste and Environmental Education Foundation, Platform for Society Support Initiative, Aid for Rural Education Access Initiative, Do Good Social Impact Foundation, Baywood Foundation, Initiative for Gender Empowerment and Creativity, Bunmi Adedayo Foundation and RecyclePoints Foundation.
Five of these projects, Waste in the City, Waste to Strap, Mission Zero Plastic, Waste to Wealth, and Project DORI are focused on combating the plastic waste challenge and creating a second life for these plastic bottles clogging our gutters and waterways. These community-based sustainability projects are set to be deployed across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos, Delta, Enugu, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Kaduna, & Bauchi States, and will aid job creation for thousands of women and youth while engendering relevant behavioural changes. The projects seek to recover over 3,000 tons of plastic waste and economically empower over 10,000 women and youths over a 12-month period.
The Tech-Relevant Teacher Programme, offers teacher training support and technologies for virtual learning across 200 low and middle-cost schools in a bid to improve the learning experience in primary schools, especially in neighborhoods with an increased number of out-of-school children due to the effects of COVID-19. No fewer than 30 schools will receive hardware and content production suites to aid virtual learning.
In Enugu, the Youth Information Communication and Technology Skills Acquisition Project (YISAP) is set to impact the lives of over 600 youths, including persons living with disabilities, through the provision of vocational and entrepreneurial training.
Also worthy of note is the Climate Smart Shea Processing Facility to be set up in Oyo state, focused on the economic recovery of 1,500 rural women who are shea nut farmers, pickers and processors largely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the laudable projects funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation in Nigeria so far include the Clean Up Naija and RecyclesPay Projects, the Recycling Scheme for Women and Youth Empowerment (RESWAYE) , SHAPE Economic Women Empowerment, Catalyst for Change and the Cash 4 Trash Initiative by the Initiative for the Advancement of Waste Management in Africa (WASTE Africa).These projects have improved the livelihoods of over 5,000 women and youths and have kept over 2,800 out of school children are in school using recovered plastic as a currency.
Every year, The Coca-Cola Company gives back 1% of its prior year’s operating income through its Foundation. Since its inception in 1984, The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded more than $1 billion in grants to support sustainable community initiatives around the world.