Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd. and its bottling partner, Nigeria Bottling Company have signed a partnership agreement to empower 1,000 women in Lagos.
Through the partnership framework, the selected women will receive training in financial literacy and business skills as well as start-up capital to integrate them into the Coca-Cola value chain as retailers of the company’s beverage products.
The partnership is anchored on Coca-Cola’s 5by20 Programme, which is the company’s global commitment to enable the economic empowerment of five million women entrepreneurs across its value chain by 2020.
Representing the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund at the signing ceremony, Executive Secretary LSETF, Akintunde Oyebode, said the LSETF’s mandate is aimed at creating an enabling environment for Lagos residents to realise their business aspirations by providing leverage and access to finance for them to thrive, while ensuring employment and innovative opportunities for residents of the state.
Managing Director of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Bhupendra Suri, reiterated the company’s commitment, saying: “Now more than ever, we are certain of our commitment to the well-being of our communities, a critical part of which are our women. As pillars of their communities, women invest a sizable portion of the income they earn on the health and education of their children and in their local economies, creating a tremendous economic impact. LSETF is our partner of choice for this initiative considering our shared vision on women empowerment and its vast network across the State.