News
How Coca-Cola Empowered 6 Million Lives through Improved Clean Water Access across Continent
As part of its week-long celebration of World Water Day (March 22), The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) announced the achievement of the Replenish Africa Initiative’s (RAIN) current goal to improve access to clean water for 6 million people.
RAIN, launched in 2009, is TCCF’s flagship clean water program in Africa contributing to helping countries across the continent achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6).
Today’s 6 million person achievement is the result of a collective effort from over 300 international and local public, private and civil society partners.
As part of the celebrations for World Water Day 2021, RAIN partners gathered virtually today for a panel discussion to mark the achievement of the program and share best practices for replication from the program.
Speaking on the achievement, Bea Perez, Chair and President, The Coca-Cola Foundation, said, “RAIN is a testament to the power of collective action.
“Working with our partners, RAIN’s transformative impact can be felt today in 4,000 African communities.
“This program drives impact for the Sustainable Development Goals and our focus on People, Communities, and the Environment.”
Over the course of the past decade, RAIN has improved access to clean water for communities, schools, and clinics across 41 African countries as well as enhanced access to hygiene and promoted better hygiene behaviors.
The program has also enabled the economic empowerment of people by creating opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship, and skills generation.
In addition, RAIN has helped to protect critical watersheds, supported several African utilities in coping with the rapidly growing water demand in cities, and delivered essential hygiene items and personal protective equipment to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
RAIN has developed a number of important learnings and recommendations, including:
-Emphasize partnerships with urban and peri-urban utilities to help increase their capacity to better serve Africa’s expanding urban environments;
-Accelerate integrated water resources management efforts to decrease stress on food production, water supply and sanitation services;
-Enhance source protection for priority watersheds that serve the drinking water needs of millions of Africans;
-Address the gender gap and focusing on the needs of women who play a critical role in community resilience and are uniquely empowered by WASH access;
-Improve the collection, accessibility, sharing and use of data to monitor WASH services, improve performance, planning and decision making;
-Support civil society and communities to help build resilience to water-related climate change impacts.
Bruno Pietracci, President for The Coca-Cola Company’s Africa operating unit, said, “Africa is experiencing the highest rate of urban growth globally and is home to 21 of the world’s 30 fastest-growing cities.
“Africa is also more vulnerable to climate change than any other region. The Coca-Cola Foundation is committed to working with communities and governments to enhance climate change adaptation and help address the challenges that urbanization creates for the delivery of clean water and sanitation throughout the continent.”
The Coca-Cola Foundation is the global philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company.
Since its inception in 1984, the Foundation has given back more than $1 billion to enable the empowerment of women, enhance communities, protect the environment and educate scholars around the world.
Entrepreneurs backed by the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) have generated more than $4.2 billion in cumulative revenue since the organisation began its grant programme in 2015, according to Somachi Chris-Asoluka, chief executive officer of the foundation.
Chris-Asoluka, revealed this during a virtual media briefing, where she also stated that over $100 million has been distributed to nearly 24,000 young entrepreneurs across Africa.
She noted that the beneficiaries of the programme have gone on to create about 1.5 million jobs, both directly and indirectly, across various sectors of the continent’s economy.
The performance, she said, has strengthened the resolve of the foundation and its partners to scale up financial support for emerging businesses.
Chris-Asoluka emphasised that the foundation’s interventions are anchored on the conviction that entrepreneurship is central to reducing poverty and reshaping Africa’s economic future.
She explained that selected participants receive a $5,000 seed capital grant, in addition to structured business training and mentorship designed to help them either expand existing enterprises or establish new ones.
Highlighting operational challenges faced by entrepreneurs, she identified inadequate electricity supply as a major constraint.
According to her, many small businesses spend as much as 60 per cent of their earnings on alternative power solutions, including generators and inverters.
To mitigate this challenge, she disclosed that Tony Elumelu, TEF founder, alongside the foundation’s leadership, has been engaging governments across Africa on the urgent need to improve power infrastructure.
She further stated that investments by programme beneficiaries cut across critical sectors such as agriculture, artificial intelligence, manufacturing, and technology innovation.
Chris-Asoluka also announced that the foundation’s 2026 cohort of entrepreneurs will be formally unveiled by Elumelu in Abuja.
A new financial operations platform, Morney, has officially launched in Nigeria to help businesses face growing pressure to digitise their finance processes as the country’s shift towards electronic invoicing.
Developed by Morzoe Technologies Inc. and introduced locally through its partner, BuySimply Services Limited, the platform is designed to help organisations streamline and automate financial workflows.
Speaking at the launch, Head of Growth at BuySimply, ‘Mide Olubi, said many Nigerian organisations still depend on fragmented systems such as emails and spreadsheets to manage expenses, supplier invoices and payments.
According to him, this approach often results in inefficiencies, delayed processes, weak oversight and a higher risk of errors.
He noted that Nigeria’s increasing adoption of electronic invoicing and tax digitisation frameworks is accelerating the need for structured and transparent financial systems. Businesses, he said, must move away from manual processes and adopt platforms that provide clear visibility into financial operations.
Morney integrates payments, procurement, expenses and invoicing into a single system, enabling finance teams to automate approvals, monitor transactions in real time and maintain accurate records.
The platform also supports supplier onboarding and invoice processing, helping organisations better manage operational spending.
The company revealed that businesses across sectors such as FMCG, manufacturing, energy, banking and telecommunications are already adopting the solution to improve efficiency and strengthen financial control.
It added that the partnership with BuySimply reflects a broader trend of digital transformation, as organisations respond to evolving regulatory requirements and the demand for more efficient financial management systems.
Dr Krishnan Ranganath (Krish) to Lead UniCloud Africa in Continental Digital Infrastructure Push
UniCloud Africa Limited, the premier pan-African cloud platform dedicated to advancing the continent’s digital sovereignty, has announced the appointment of Dr. Krishnan Ranganath as its Chief Executive Officer.
Dr. Krish, a seasoned industry leader known for building and scaling digital infrastructure while maintaining rigorous operational excellence, steps into the role as UniCloud Africa accelerates its mission to redefine the continent’s digital landscape.
The appointment coincides with the groundbreaking launch and immediate availability of UniCloud Africa’s enterprise-grade Sovereign Cloud and Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure across six key markets: Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Senegal, and Mozambique, even as it plans to launch in Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, Uganda, Ethiopia and Côte d’Ivoire as part of further continental expansion.
Operating under the mission of “One Cloud, One Africa,” UniCloud Africa provides governments and enterprises with a world-class, fully compliant sovereign cloud alternative to high-latency offshore providers,ensuring a robust, scalable foundation tailored to Africa’s unique environmental and economic needs.
“UniCloud sits at the epicentre of Africa’s cloud evolution. We are committed to deploying 100% sovereign infrastructure across the continent. My focus is on driving high-growth partnerships and scaling the next generation of resilient, sustainable cloud infrastructure to accelerate the evolution of the African digital ecosystem,” said Dr. Krish, CEO of UniCloud Africa Limited.
He disclosed that his focus at UniCloud Africa is on driving high-growth partnerships and scaling the next generation of resilient, sustainable cloud infrastructure, and will deploy GPUs in certain economies based on market potential and need.
While admitting that the challenges from AI integration to the green energy transition are immense, Dr Krish believes that the opportunities are greater. “I am eager to collaborate with our partners and customers to redefine the digital frontier and accelerate the evolution of the African digital ecosystem,” he added.
Ladi Okuneye, Co-founder and outgoing CEO (who remains as a director on the board) remarked: “As we enter this new chapter of growth, I am confident that Dr Krish’s extensive experience in the African digital landscape will add immense value. His technical depth and regional insight make him the ideal leader to drive UniCloud Africa forward.”
Before he was appointed CEO of UniCloud Africa, Dr. Krish was, until last month, the Regional Executive – West Africa at the Africa Data Centres (ADC).
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