L-R: Dr. Nicholas Igwe, National Coordinator, Organized Private Sector
in Water Sanitation and Hygiene (OPS-WASH); Funmi Raji, representative
of the Lagos State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty
Alleviation; Ekuma Eze, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Director,
Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Ltd.; Matthieu Seguin, Managing
Director, NBC; Busola Bamiduro, Executive Director, Karis & Eleos Hand
of Hope Foundation and Jande Tarfa, Head of Finance, West African
Vocational Education (WAVE) at the official MoU signing ceremony held
today for the implementation of the 1m euro donation by NBC's parent
company, CCHBC, towards community development initiatives in Nigeria.
Today, Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd. (NBC), a leading consumer packaged goods company and strategic bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company in Nigeria, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the implementing partners of its recently announced €1 million donation.
Speaking during the ceremony, which held at its corporate headquarters in Lagos, Managing Director of NBC, Matthieu Seguin, said the donation reflects the Company’s commitment to enriching communities and will be targeted towards empowering youth and women, the provision of water and sanitary facilities, as well as scaling its PET recycling initiatives in Nigeria.
“This donation underscores our commitment to improving the lives of our communities, and it will be directed towards areas we believe we can have the most impact – empowering youth and women, and the provision of water and recycling facilities. I would like to particularly thank our partners in these initiatives, who have been selected based on their strong track record and will work with us to ensure that this investment is directed where it’s needed most, “Matthieu added.
Key partners for the programmes covered under the €1 million donation include Karis & Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation, West African Vocational Education (WAVE), Organized Private Sector in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (OPS-WASH) and Chanja Datti Limited.
OPS-WASH will deliver state of the art toilet facilities across identified communities in 5 states in Nigeria, reaching about 5 million people annually. The intervention will also support the Federal Government’s efforts to end open defecation by 2025.
Similarly, WAVE Academy will undertake the upskilling of youths in Abuja, Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Edo, Rivers and Kaduna in Digital and Hospitality skills and connect them to job opportunities. Karis and Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation will focus on empowering vulnerable women across 8 states with relevant skills to support economic inclusion of women.
As one of the foremost recycling companies in Nigeria, Chanja Datti will drive the intervention that supports community recycling in Lagos State and Abuja. This will also contribute to raise the number of recycling banks in the selected communities, and further support in raising awareness on responsible disposal of wastes, especially plastics, while empowering vulnerable women economically.
The MoU provides a formal framework for the programmes based on shared values and further demonstrates NBC’s commitment to contribute to the uplifting of communities and socio-economic development in Nigeria.
In her remarks, Lagos State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Hon. Cecilia Bolaji Dada, who was represented by Funmi Raji, said: “The Ministry commends the Nigerian Bottling Company on their laudable impact in alleviating poverty amongst the citizenry and the state in general, by empowering vulnerable women and young girls in the society through their various programmes. I encourage women everywhere to continue to avail themselves to various opportunities to become empowered, self-reliant, and independent financially.”
Jande Tarfa, a representative of one of the partners, WAVE, said the donation would enable the organisation to expand the scope and impact of its youth empowerment initiatives and reach even more beneficiaries across the country.
The partnership will come to life in key areas of shared value including promoting water sanitation & hygiene (WASH), skills development programmes for women and youths as well as accelerate its World Without Waste agenda in Nigeria. The donation is part of NBC’s 70th anniversary celebration and reflects the Company’s unwavering commitment to Nigeria and its people.
About Nigerian Bottling Company
Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd (NBC) is a member of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC) Group, an anchor bottler for The Coca-Cola Company in 28 countries with over 605 million consumers and 197 brands in these markets. Their operations have continued to grow over the years and today NBC operates 8 manufacturing plants and 14 distribution centres across Nigeria. NBC serves consumers across Nigeria by manufacturing, marketing and distributing a portfolio of strong brands including Sparking Soft Drinks which has the iconic Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes and Limca; Still Drinks including the Five Alive range and Eva water as well as Monster and Predator energy drinks.
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