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Coca-Cola Foundation Upskills 600 Women with $66,000 Grant

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The Coca-Cola Foundation, TCCF has continued to reiterate its commitment to empower women in Africa through specific “In-Country” developmental programs, executed in partnership with credible Non-Governmental Organizations.

 

TCCF awarded a $66,000 grant to Lagos based NGO, WhiteField Foundation to implement its capacity building and upskilling program tagged S.H.A.P.E 2020.

 

The acronym, which stands for “She Has Ability, Position & Equip Her” is Whitefield’s women focused intervention which commits to train and equip “at-risk” and “underserved” women in local communities with transferable skills such as catering, cosmetics, fashion designing, soap making etc.

 

They will also receive business management trainings focused largely on personal branding, marketing and financial literacy among others.

 

The grant allows Whitefield expand the program to 600 participants and also empower over 100 of the women with tools of trade with which they can set out on their journey out of poverty.

 

Whitefield Foundation has trained over 5000 women and youth in different skill-acquisition programs over its 17 years of existence.

 

Speaking at this year’s program launch, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria, noted the Foundations commitment to empower and invest in women, maintaining that the awarding of the grant is in line with that objective. She said:

 

“We truly believe that women are not only essential to building thriving communities, but they also represent one of the biggest accelerators to economic growth globally.

 

We have learned that if they have access to the right support, they can be extraordinary economic multipliers – both at the community level as an essential part of building thriving communities.

 

“The award of this grant to Whitefield Foundation will help in achieving the shared objective of supporting women, growing a sustainable pipeline of female talent and empowering women which would ultimately create a sustainable society.”  

 

Coca-Cola had set an ambitious goal in 2010 to enable and empower 5million women by 2020 through its 5by20 Program.

 

So far 4.6 million women have been directly impacted by this program across the world, including over 400,000 women in Nigeria whose livelihood have been improved.

 

Expressing the thought process behind the SHAPE program and her gratitude to The Coca-Cola Foundation was Funmi Johnson, chief Operating Officer, Whitefield Foundation: “Every individual requires living an independent life, free of domination and subjugation, hence the need to empower the women in Nigeria.

 

“It is our belief at Whitefield Foundation that apart from just being financially independent, women have the capacity to perform and add to the economic benefit of society. With the support of The Coca-Cola Foundation, we have moved a step further in our dream of empowering one million women across Nigeria and Africa by 2023,” she said.

 

Taking the keynote addresses at the SHAPE 2020 launch event were Head of Department, Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Professor Abigail Ogwezzy- Ndisika, Honorable Justice of Lagos High Court, Justice Adenike Josephine Coker and the representative of the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Lagos State, Mrs. Olayinka Oye-Bamgbose .

 

They all acknowledged the importance of women empowerment initiatives just like SHAPE 2020 and expressed their gratitude to The Coca-Cola Foundation for supporting the program, urging the foundation to spread its oars and continue in its support of more initiatives like this.

 

The launch event also had performances from top entertainers in the industry including popular Tinsel star, Abiola Segun Williams.

 

The Coca-Cola Foundation has contributed more than $1 billion to help protect the environment, promote recycling, empower women and enhance communities around the world.

 


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

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Detained Binance executive drags EFCC, NSA to court

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Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan has has dragged the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to court alleging violations of his fundamental rights.

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In a filing dated March 18 and presented by his lawyer Olujoke Aliyu from Aluko and Oyebode Law Firm, Gambaryan sought redress before Justice Inyang Ekwo, requesting five reliefs. Similarly, Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager who escaped custody on March 22, initiated a separate suit before Justice Ekwo.

Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, in the suits marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/356/24 and FHC/ABJ/CS/355/24, had sued the Office of NSA (ONSA) and EFCC as 1st and 2nd respondents.

Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform, alleged that his detention and the confiscation of his international travel passport violated Section 35 (1) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution, constituting a breach of his fundamental right to personal liberty. He further requested the court to order his immediate release and the return of his passport. Additionally, he sought an injunction preventing further detention related to any Binance investigations and demanded a public apology from the respondents, along with costs incurred.

Gambaryan stated that he visited Nigeria on February 26 alongside Nadeem Anjarwalla, representing Binance, in response to invitations from ONSA and EFCC. Despite attending the meeting as requested, both were detained afterward without formal charges.

During the court proceedings, T.J. Krukrubo, SAN, representing Anjarwalla and Gambaryan, informed the court of the respondents’ absence despite being served. Krukrubo also mentioned their notice of withdrawal of legal representation for Anjarwalla, filed on March 26.

Justice Ekwo noted the withdrawal of legal representation and adjourned the matter to April 8 to allow the applicants to seek new representation and give the respondents an opportunity to appear.

In Gambaryan’s case, Krukrubo stated that although the processes were served on ONSA and EFCC, they still had time to respond. He requested an adjournment, indicating that the respondents’ deadline to file their applications would expire the following week.

Consequently, Justice Ekwo scheduled the next hearing for April 8 to continue proceedings.


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AXA Mansard Empowers Female SMEs with Financial, Digital Skills

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AXA Mansard, a member of AXA has empowered 200 female Small and Medium Enterprises with financial literacy and digital business skills.

In collaboration with SME 100 Africa, the two-day training, which was held in Lagos, is part of AXA’s lined-up programmes to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day.

Speaking, Olusesan Ogunyooye, Head of Marketing AXA Mansard, said the training was aimed to empower female SME owners with skills to improve business output and position them for the increasing economic opportunities available in an increasingly digital marketplace.

Ogunyooye noted that the move was in line with AXA Mansard’s sustainability agenda, explaining that the company was convinced that support for women through its inclusive protection programmes was pivotal to its purpose of acting for human progress by protecting what matters and its mission of moving from being a payer to a partner.

He further said that focusing on digital skills was important because the company realised the importance of digital skills to the growth of the SME sector in Nigeria and wants to ensure that women were empowered enough to be a consequential part of that growth.

“It’s almost trite to say that SMEs are the engine for economic growth, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, where over 45 million adults are business owners. What needs to be continually discussed is how Nigeria is going to unlock that potential for economic development and how much of that potential will be unlocked by women and for women.”

“For us at AXA Mansard, we are aware that digital will play a major role in unlocking these current opportunities and Nigeria’s economic future. So, to ensure that women are equally represented in unlocking these future potentials, that’s why we have collaborated with SME 100 Africa to support them in developing the required skills”.

“Our choice of digital and financial literacy skills is deliberate. We understand the power of the duo. We understand that helping these SMEs with the skills to attract more customers will be a faster means to empower them.

“We see that they have amazing products and services, but they need to understand how to attract value for themselves by attracting the right customers, and you will agree with me that virtually all customer segments are online in one way or another today.

“So, if we can empower them with digital business skills, we would have helped them with the heavy lifting of trying to find and attract customers”. Ogunyooye explained.

According to him, AXA Mansard believes that for the world to experience progress truly, there must be an equitable distribution of creation and access to opportunities for men and women. This quest for balance informed the SHE for Shield initiative, a women-centred inclusive protection programme of AXA Mansard.

SHE for Shield is a group of initiatives designed for the Nigerian woman. The goal is to see them grow, add value, and help them mitigate risks at every step.

According to the company, research has found that access to health care is one of the most important things to Nigerian women, regardless of their economic segment. They desire to be financially independent, secure, and respected in the community.

 


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IFC Invests in New 4DX Ventures Fund to Support Tech Startups in Africa

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IFC is investing $10.5 million in a new fund by 4DX Ventures, a New York-based venture capital firm focused on supporting early-stage African technology companies across a broad set of sectors, including fintech, e-commerce, edtech, climate tech, and health tech.

IFC’s investment in 4DX Ventures Fund III will come from IFC’s $225 million venture capital platform, which was launched last year to strengthen emerging VC ecosystems and invest in early-stage companies in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan.

Africa is among the regions least served by venture capital, receiving just 2% of global venture deal volume in the third quarter of 2023. Access to capital on the continent has been further exacerbated by a slowdown in global venture capital investment.

Tech ecosystems are nascent, or even nonexistent, outside of more established markets such as Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa.

“IFC and 4DX Ventures share the commitment to supporting tech entrepreneurs with innovations that will help Africa leapfrog in critical areas such as climate, health care, fintech, e-commerce, and education,” said Walter Baddoo, Co-Founder and General Partner of 4DX Ventures.

“We look forward to partnering with IFC to help promising tech startups build transformative businesses and realize sustainable development impact on the continent.”

4DX’s new fund will invest in companies with tech solutions that can improve productivity, efficiency and competitiveness across Africa. The firm’s first two funds invested in companies such as Egypt-based e-commerce platform MaxAB, an IFC portfolio company; Ghana-based health tech firm mPharma; and Kenya-based B2B e-commerce platform Wasoko, formerly known as Sokowatch.

“By supporting the development of tech ecosystems in emerging markets, IFC’s venture capital platform aims to improve access to key services, boost business competitiveness, and promote job creation through digital transformation,” said Mohamed Gouled, Vice President of Industries at IFC.

“Our investment in venture funds such as 4DX Ventures will help African entrepreneurs access more financing and resources they need to scale tech innovations and bolster sustainable growth across the continent.

In addition to providing capital, IFC will work with 4DX Ventures to implement their environmental and social management system.


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