News
Coca-Cola Reiterates Commitment to Women Economic Empowerment
At the just concluded Lagos State Employability Trust Fund (LSETF) Employment Summit, Coca-Cola Nigeria along with its Bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company, (NBC) highlighted its commitment to economically empowering women.
Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria, spoke on the opportunities for women in entrepreneurship showcased the work the company has done in creating more jobs here in Nigeria and their commitment to achieving more by the end of the year.
2020 marks the end of the company’s global 5by20commitment to economically empowering 5million women. Nwamaka Onyemelukwe expressed the company’s resolve to wrap it up on a high note, especially in Nigeria. So far, a total of 3.8million women have been impacted as at the end of 2018 with over 330,000 women beneficiaries coming from Nigeria.
Coca-Cola launched the 5by20 Initiative in 2010, with an audacious goal to economically empower 5 million women across its value chain by the year 2020. Every year since then, the company has launched different programmes aligned with this strategic objective to create shared value across different communities. .
Sharing some of the successes and key strategies of the initiative, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe highlighted the train and equip model as one of the reasons they have recorded much success, as Coca-Cola has been able to not only provide their women beneficiaries jobs of their own, but have also turned them into job creators.
In 2018, Nwamaka led the Coca-Cola team to sign an MoU with the LSETF to economically empower 1000 women across various local governments in Lagos State. Today, over 900 women have been impacted under this programme. We express our profound thanks to LSETF for their contributions so far as we are confident that we are on track to ensure we deliver on this commitment.
Nwamaka went on to explain in detail other laudable women empowerment initiatives Coca-Cola has been involved in. Among them is the Educate Nigeria Girls in New Enterprise ( ENGINE)- A partnership between The Coca-Cola Company and the UK Department for International Development (DFID). ENGINE program improved the learning outcomes and economic status of more than 21,000 marginalized adolescent girls in the Northern Nigerian states of Kano and Kaduna, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria.
Water and Development Alliance (WADA) Initiative which provided access to improved water and sanitation, a daily challenge for most Nigerians. The problem is particularly acute in rural northern Nigeria, where only about 30% of the population had access to improved water services in 2006. “We worked with our partners in the area to construct and rehabilitate 38 rural water supply systems which benefited many including 33,000 school children.
The most important process of our community intervention is the sudden change in attendance rate by female school children which rose from less than 50 to about 240 as a result of this project’s intervention”, Nwamaka said.
Another notable intervention is The Lady mechanic initiative which empowered about 100 girls in Benin- City through the auto-mechanic skills capability development. Today these empowered young girls are all employers of labour; which contributed to the reduction of human trafficking in the state. The State government committed to entrusting the State Government fleet of vehicles to the empowered girls to maintain for a period of two years and some currently manage the fleet till date.
As part of her remarks, she said “Women are extraordinary economic multipliers when they have the right support. We have learnt that the return on investment on women is significant and this is why we create high-impact initiatives that empowers women. Women play a very important role in keeping many FMCGs, not just ours afloat, from sourcing to production to distribution and even after consumption in the area of community recycling , and it is only more beneficial and useful to society that we empower them. Finally, we pride ourselves in living our purpose which is to “Refresh the World. Make a Difference”.
The 2-day summit which was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Lagos had in attendance, the Commissioner, Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Otunba Yetunde Arobieke, Ifueko Omoigui Okauru, Chairman Board of Trustees, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Tejumola Abisoye, Ag. Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), the SSA, and Focal Person, Human Capital Development, Nasarawa State, Habiba Balarabe Suleiman, Government agencies, International NGOs, Donor agencies, as well as many different professionals from various sectors as speakers.
Ogba Ogbaga, an Abuja-based lawyer, has said that he has been instructed to institute legal proceedings against MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, 9mobile and MultiChoice Nigeria, operators of DStv, over what he described as unfair consumer practices relating to expiring data bundles and television subscriptions.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Ogbaga said his law firm, GIMBG Legals, received instructions from its client, KAA, also known as KaaTruths, to challenge the companies’ subscription policies in court.
According to him, the proposed suit will question whether telecom operators and DStv’s subscription models comply with provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 and other applicable laws.
Ogbaga alleged that telecom providers operate internet data services that are unfair to consumers, claiming subscribers sometimes do not receive the services they paid for but still lose their subscriptions once the validity period expires.
He also criticised DStv’s subscription model, arguing that consumers lose paid viewing time due to factors such as power outages, adverse weather conditions and service interruptions, while subscriptions continue to count down regardless.
“Our clients have complained that MTN data services are unduly one-sided,” Ogbaga said, adding that the legal action would also extend to other telecommunications providers and DStv.
He said the court action would seek judicial determination on whether the companies’ subscription practices comply with consumer protection laws.
The lawyer also invited interested legal practitioners to collaborate on the case, saying his firm would provide updates as the matter progresses.
In a separate Facebook post on Wednesday, Ogbaga said previous policy discussions, town hall meetings and debates at the National Assembly had failed to address the concerns raised by consumers.
He argued that telecom operators regularly carry out maintenance and network upgrades that temporarily disrupt services without extending customers’ subscription periods, while DStv subscribers also lose viewing time because of electricity outages and weather-related disruptions.
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has commenced the issuance of new licence certificates to insurance companies that successfully met the industry’s new minimum capital requirements, marking the formal beginning of a new regulatory era aimed at strengthening the financial capacity, governance and global competitiveness of Nigeria’s insurance sector.
At a ceremony held at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, the Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, presented the new licence certificates to compliant operators, describing the exercise as a major milestone in the industry’s recapitalisation programme.
According to the Commission, a total of 43 insurance companies declared compliant with the new capital requirements are expected to receive the new licence certificates in phases.
Omosehin congratulated the successful companies, saying the issuance of the new licences signals the beginning of a stronger regulatory framework anchored on improved capitalisation, sound corporate governance, innovation and sustainable growth.
He urged operators to leverage their enhanced capital base to develop innovative insurance products, improve operational efficiency and deepen insurance penetration across the country.
The Commissioner said the Commission expects the recapitalised companies to deliver stronger financial performance while maintaining high standards of professionalism and customer service.
He also announced that NAICOM’s next major regulatory initiative would be the implementation of the Risk-Based Capital (RBC) framework, under which insurers’ capital levels would be aligned with the risks inherent in their respective business portfolios.
According to him, the new framework will further strengthen the industry’s resilience by ensuring that insurers maintain capital commensurate with the risks they underwrite, thereby enhancing policyholder protection and boosting market confidence.
Omosehin reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to removing regulatory impediments where necessary while maintaining effective oversight to safeguard policyholders and strengthen confidence in the insurance market.
The issuance of the new licence certificates marks the commencement of a phased transition to higher capital standards aimed at improving the financial capacity, solvency and claims-paying ability of insurance companies operating in Nigeria.
Management of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek Media has withdrawn its publication titled “Adefolarin Ogunsanya and the Allegations of Shareholder Interference and Self-Dealing at Pan African Towers,” which was published on its platform.
The decision to retract the story follows an editorial review to ensure that the platform maintains the highest standards of accuracy, fairness and responsible journalism in reporting matters that are the subject of ongoing judicial proceedings.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek acknowledges that the issues raised in the publication remain before the courts and have not been finally determined.
Accordingly, the organisation has decided to remove the article from its platforms pending the conclusion of the legal processes or the availability of additional verified information.
The publication regrets any inconvenience or misunderstanding the report may have caused to readers or any individuals or organisations mentioned in the story.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek remains committed to the principles of balanced, factual and ethical journalism and will continue to uphold professional standards in its coverage of judicial and corporate governance matters.
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