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The Coca-Cola Foundation Empowers African Female Entrepreneurs through JAMII Femmes Initiative

By: GWL Team | Monday, 7 August 2023

The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) and the international non-governmental organisation Women in Africa (WIA) have teamed together to establish the JAMII Femmes initiative, which is a ground-breaking effort to encourage African women entrepreneurs. Through finance, company incubation, coaching, and new networking possibilities, the effort, which started in 2022 throughout Nigeria, Kenya, and the Ivory Coast, intends to accelerate the growth of 14,000 African women entrepreneurs over a two-year period.

After Cohort 1 in Nigeria was successfully completed, the JAMII Femmes initiative, which has already spurred a huge economic revolution on the continent, passed a key milestone. Twenty exceptional participants attended a recent rigorous boot camp in Lagos that gave them the knowledge and essential business skills they needed to advance and develop their individual small enterprises. The boot camp's main objectives were to stimulate the growth of professional networks and a greater comprehension of the socioeconomic and regulatory framework governing Nigerian company operations.

The Coca-Cola Foundation's president, Saadia Madsbjerg, stated her delight for the collaboration and the Foundation's goal of bringing about good change in the areas it supports. "Our aim is to leave a tangible and long-lasting impact on our communities, wherever they live," she said. Through supporting the economic resilience of African female-owned businesses, our relationship with JAMII Femmes strives to address some of the barriers that women in business encounter and eventually have a beneficial impact on their communities.

The president of Women in Africa, Hafsat Abiola, emphasised that empowering African women means releasing their limitless potential and creativity in addition to economic success. She emphasised the JAMII Femmes programme as a way to provide women the abilities, information, and resources they need to overcome obstacles and emerge as powerful leaders who will influence Africa's future.

The awarding of a $1,600 business seed grant to each participant at the boot camp's closing ceremony was a memorable event. Chioma Echegwisi, the founder of Davichi Farms and Agrotech Nigeria Limited, received the prestigious Laureate grant of $10,000 in recognition of her outstanding performance throughout the empowerment programme.

These awards are meant to help the grant recipients go on with the company development plans they created throughout the programme and boot camp, fostering greater economic growth and sustainability.

The JAMII Femmes initiative's success stories are encouraging many ambitious female business owners and demonstrating its revolutionary potential.

Stereotypes are being broken and more women are being inspired to follow their business aspirations because to the Coca-Cola Foundation's ongoing commitment to female empowerment. The JAMII Femmes programme is expected to continue having a significant influence on African women entrepreneurs, their companies, and their communities as a result of the collaboration between TCCF and Women In Africa, paving the way for a more promising and inclusive economic future for the continent.