CCBSA empowers young people and drives economic growth across SA

People matter. Our planet matters. That's why Coca-Cola Beverages SA (CCBSA) believes in doing business the right way by following its values and working towards solutions that benefit us all. 

Not only is the company continuously developing sustainable ways to produce, distribute and sell its products, it's also committed to fostering economic inclusion and developing sustainability solutions that benefit its stakeholders, in particular the communities in which it is invested.

CCBSA has a strong history of enhancing the livelihoods of the people in the communities it proudly serves; it helps to enable the economic empowerment of a diverse network of customers, suppliers and communities across its value chain. 

It has adopted the two pillars of employability and entrepreneurship as a framework for its economic inclusion strategy. Through programmes such as Bizniz in a Box (BiB) and the Study Buddy Fund, CCBSA enables women and young people to access better future opportunities.

Also, through its support for small suppliers to its business, the company is providing meaningful economic opportunities and enhanced livelihoods.

Investing in education 

The CCBSA Study Buddy Fund comprises four pillars:

1. Bursary programme

The bursary programme offers financial support to academically strong students from disadvantaged backgrounds who meet university entry requirements.

2. University partnerships

Through partnerships with universities, funding is made available to enrolled students who face financial challenges and lack access to bursaries or support from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

3. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college support

This initiative supports young people who do not meet university entrance requirements by focusing on technical skills development tailored to the CCBSA value chain, including fields such as electrical and mechanical engineering.

4. Ligbron E-Learning programme

CCBSA uses e-learning to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics and science. 

Supporting the SMME Sector 

CCBSA launched the BiB initiative in 2016 to support small businesses, particularly those run by youth and women. 

BiB's primary focus is to create an ecosystem of viable microbusinesses offering complementary products and services in a community, using a spaza shop as the anchor. Each business operates out of a custom-designed container. 

Since BiB's inception, CCBSA has supported hundreds of entrepreneurs across a number of provinces, including Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. 

Empowerment through local procurement and enterprise development 

CCBSA aims to strengthen local procurement and increase financial support for, and enhance, local supplier development programmes. It does this in a number of ways, including by identifying and addressing some of the obstacles small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) face, such as access to funding and markets.

It has designed programmes, such as the Khulanathi Fund, to accelerate the growth and development of SMMEs. (Khulanathi means “grow with us” in isiZulu.)

It also runs regional Supplier Skills Summits where entrepreneurs participate in a series of workshops focused on capacity-building and skills development programmes, as well as providing access to business leadership content and insights.

Each Supplier Skills Summit is followed by an Access to Markets Bootcamp, an exclusive networking event that connects SMMEs with senior executives of SA businesses to help facilitate introductions and engagement around opportunities offered by large corporates.

A further programme CCBSA has invested in is its Enterprise Supplier Development Postgraduate Diploma in Management Practice, which is run in conjunction with the Henley Business School.

These initiatives form part of the company's transformation and sustainability journey as it looks to empower SMME owners with the knowledge, insights and skills to allow them to grow their businesses. 

By supporting and growing small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), CCBSA helps to unlock a better future for enterprising individuals, their families and employees, as well as their wider community. After all, economic growth is vital to the socioeconomic wellbeing of communities across SA. 

This article was sponsored by CCBSA.