The Coca-Cola Company’s 5by20 program was named Best Global Initiative for Women’s Economic Empowerment at the Women in Leadership Economic Forum in Dubai.
Susan Mboya, president of The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, and Antoine Tayyar, director of public affairs and communications for Coca-Cola Middle East, accepted the award on behalf of the company.
5by20 is The Coca-Cola Company’s commitment to enable the economic empowerment of 5 million women entrepreneurs across its global value chain by 2020. The initiative address common barriers women face in the marketplace by providing access to business skills training, financial services and mentoring and networking opportunities. Coca-Cola collaborates with government, civil society and other businesses to customize 5by20 programs to address the needs of female entrepreneurs in specific countries. Key partners include UN Women, IFC, TechnoServe, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IDB and Mercy Corps, among many other NGOs.
“By the end of 2013, more than 550,000 women were impacted in total through the initiative in a total of 44 countries,” Mboya said. “In the years ahead, we expect to reach every region of the globe as 5by20 grows exponentially.”
Tayyar added, “Women form the backbone of families and communities in the developing world, and a growing body of evidence demonstrates that investments in women’s business success can have significant positive impact on local economies and communities.”
Coca-Cola also was recognized with the 2013 Catalyst award for its efforts to expand opportunities for women in business, and the 2014 Women’s Empowerment Principles Leadership Award for driving and advancing a partnership initiative of UN Women and the UN Global Compact.
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