Speaking at the launching of the project held at the Gambega head office on yesterday, he said: “At the Coca-Cola Company, we believe women are a powerful global economic force but one that is consistently undervalued. 5by20 is our global commitment to enable the economic empowerment of 5 million women entrepreneurs by 2020. Specifically, we’ll focus on the small businesses the company works with in over 200 countries around the world. We have made a significant milestone in the development of business in The Gambia by our continued efforts and drive for women empowerment.
“Women around the world are already pillars of their business systems as they are building on that foundation by implementing programmes to help women own their business or businesses all over the world. In this 5by20 project, we collaborate with the governments, non-governmental organisations, civil societies and other business partners to address the most common barriers women face when trying to succeed in business. The initiative offers women access to business skills training courses, financial services and network with peers and mentors, along with the confidence that comes with building a successful business. The whole objective of the project is to create a sustainable livelihood for these women for a sustainable community, thus creating a sustainable economy for the nation.”
He further revealed: “The initiative had been launched in over 20 countries including Liberia and Ghana in the sub-region and not excluding The Gambia. Already, there have been reports of some significant successes registered by some of these women since they started their businesses in less than one year, particularly in Liberia. They will benefit from the project in terms of giving them requisite trainings, ice chests, coolers, mini-tables, umbrellas, chairs, aprons, stickers, openers, T-shirts, caps and a capital of 15,000 each in the form of trade equipment and products to kick off.
“We have initiated the process and procedures for the second batch and by the end of the year, we are expecting to train and set up 100 women entrepreneurs in The Gambia. At this juncture, we solicit partnership support in the area of offering more finance, training, mentoring and coaching for these women entrepreneurs as their businesses progress.”
Aji Amie Jatta of the National Women’s Council said: “This is a good initiative from Coca Cola to create more employment for Gambia women. I would like to advise the beneficiaries to make use of the project as it all geared towards enhancing the socio-economic development of the country”.
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