In early October, it was revealed that corporation and beverage manufacturer Coca-Cola had sealed a deal with partners such as County Government of Laikipia, Women Enterprise Fund (WEF), Absa and Amref Health Africa, all with the aim of supporting small and micro business outlets in Kenya following the harsh economic times brought forth by the pandemic.
The deal, which is still ongoing, plans to support near 20000 small businesses that have adversely been affected by the virus in the form of revenue losses, and in extreme cases, closure of their enterpries.
Coca Cola is seeking to play a part in addressing some of the said business contraints. In fact, it remains to be seen that space is undergoing a crisis, and the cases we continue seeing underscore the financial fragility of many small businesses, and how deeply affected they are by the current crisis.
Besides the named partners, Coca-Cola has, as of last week, managed to add to that portfolio with the entry of Thika Road Mall, TRM. TRM part was echoed last Friday following a public gathering at the mall that saw the partners communicate to people about the goals of the Christmas collaboration.
“We are very glad to partner with TRM, considering 2020 has been tough following the impact of the pandemic. So, we thought it would be a good idea to do something big and appeal to our shoppers, and give them something for Christmas,” said John Mwendwa, HR CCBA Kenya at the launch of the Christmas fair at TRM.
John Mwendwa added that the fair will aim to reach out to as many consumers as possible across Kenya.
Other than the 125M budget under the Open It Like Never Before campaign, Coca-Cola is supporting small enterprises by trying to net as many financial partners as possible to support the entire exercise. For the moment, its main financial partner is Absa. The funds will see affected businesses access affordable loans to restart their enterprises.
Also, other than providing personal protective equipment including masks and face shields, handwashing jerrycans, sanitizers, and garden furniture to enable businesses to enforce the required social distancing, Coca-Cola has since launched a home-delivery product named Dial-A-Coke, all done from an online platform.
The TRM show was also attended by CEO Andand Garikipati, who added that the partnership is unique and will go a long way in supporting the affected groups.
Coca-Cola recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has a global impact, and promises to continue to explore ways to help as many people affected by the crisis as possible.
