WATCH | CCBSA quenches the youth’s thirst for entrepreneurship opportunities

Coca-Cola Beverages SA has invested more than R105m in its youth development programmes, including Bizniz in a Box and the Study Buddy Fund

27 June 2022 - 13:34
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Coca-Cola Beverages SA's Bizniz in a Box initiative helps transform aspiring entrepreneurs into fully-fledged business owners who can create a livelihood for themselves and others.
Coca-Cola Beverages SA's Bizniz in a Box initiative helps transform aspiring entrepreneurs into fully-fledged business owners who can create a livelihood for themselves and others.
Image: Supplied/CCBSA

Coca-Cola Beverages SA (CCBSA) sees the youth as the key to driving economic recovery in SA.

Since 2016, CCBSA has invested more than R105m in its youth development programmes, including its Bizniz in a Box initiative and, most recently, its Study Buddy Fund.

The company launched Bizniz in a Box in 2016, a programme aimed primarily at transforming aspiring entrepreneurs into fully-fledged business owners who can create a livelihood for themselves and others. To date, CCBSA has financially supported and provided training to more than 700 entrepreneurs across the country.

The Study Buddy Fund was launched in 2021 and has enabled 55 young people from 14 host communities where CCBSA operates to access tertiary education. The fund pays for full tuition, accommodation fees and a monthly stipend. This is over and above the bursaries the company pays for employees’ children and young people in the organisation.

These programmes are some of the company’s investments to support the government’s efforts in tackling the country’s youth unemployment challenges. 

“Our youth are resilient and innovative and have shown that they can start their own businesses to create a livelihood for themselves. But disillusionment remains high and now, more than ever, we need a focused approach to tackle some of the challenges we face as a country. There is a need for all stakeholders to collaborate and co-facilitate solutions that will bring hope to our young people, be it providing access to education or helping them build businesses,” says Nozicelo Ngcobo, CCBSA’s public affairs, communication and sustainability director. 

CCBSA believes that when companies grow their businesses the right way, not just the easy way, they can help to create inclusive growth opportunities for communities and all their stakeholders, for a better shared future. 

WATCH | A closer look at how Coca-Cola Beverages SA's more than R105m investment in youth development programmes is supporting the government’s efforts in tackling the country’s youth unemployment challenges.

Glimmers of hope are starting to emerge from SA’s economic gloom, none more so than the news on May 31 that the country’s unemployment rate had receded from its record high of 35.3% in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 34.5% for the first quarter of 2022.

The SA economy gaining an estimated 370,000 jobs over the period under review potentially indicates that the worst economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are subsiding. 

“We need to harness young people’s drive, eagerness and ability to think out of the box and use technology to succeed. We need to tap into their natural energy and ability to try new things by showing them what is possible. But we must also ensure they are part of the solution and can help birth ideas that they can own,” says Ngcobo. 

We believe in using our industry leadership to be part of the solution to achieve positive change in the country and build a legacy that we can be proud of
Nozicelo Ngcobo, CCBSA's public affairs, communication and sustainability director

“We believe in using our industry leadership to be part of the solution to achieve positive change in the country and build a legacy that we can be proud of,” says Ngcobo.

“Ultimately, the aim is to contribute towards revitalising our township and rural economies and support the country’s development agenda by enabling access to education to help young people acquire the requisite qualifications for them to enter the world of work. For those that are entrepreneurial, we commit to helping them with start-up capital and sustained support.” 

She says young people’s representation in business and the potential it has for the country, cannot be overemphasised. “It is clear that the number of unemployed drops the higher the education level and the greater the entrepreneurial spirit of SA's people, so we have to continue to invest in these two important areas.”

This article was paid for by CCBSA.



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