Mozambique: Coca-Cola Beverages Africa supports 50 women and young people to start and expand businesses in Manica

A new group of entrepreneurs in Chimoio has received support from Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) in Mozambique to develop their business skills, start and expand small businesses. Following training programmes held in Matola-Gare, Nampula, Beira, Gaza and Inhambane, CCBA has now extended the initiative to Manica, where 50 women and young people received training. Part of the Women and Youth Empowerment and Valuation Initiative (VEMJ), the programme combined practical entrepreneurship training with tools enabling participants to immediately start their commercial activities.

The initiative addresses common challenges faced by informal traders, including limited access to business skills, financial planning knowledge and the resources needed to sustain and expand their businesses. After completing the training programme, participants received business start-up kits, including a cooler box, a parasol and initial product stock. The two full days of training, supported by CCBA, covered topics such as marketing and sales, business management fundamentals and financial management.

“People are at the centre of everything we do, including the entrepreneurs who are part of our route to market,” said CCBA Mozambique’s Public Relations, Communication and Sustainability Director, Neyde Pires. The initiative reflects CCBA’s commitment to creating shared value by strengthening community livelihoods and supporting local economic activity. The company’s approach is based on a local development model, producing, distributing and sourcing goods locally whenever possible, while working closely with stakeholders across its value chain.

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“Through initiatives like this, we are helping to create opportunities, develop skills and support income generation in the communities we call home,” explained Pires. Meanwhile, the Provincial Director of the Provincial Service of Justice and Labour, Abel Henriques de Albuquerque, praised CCBA’s initiative, saying the company had responsibly embraced the cause of young people and supported the youth of Chimoio.

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