South Africa Coca Cola EKOCenter Sustains and Powers the World

South Africa Coca Cola EKOCenter Sustains and Powers the World

Recently, I had the opportunity to travel with Coca-Cola to South Africa to see what initiatives they were working on to give back to the communities they serve; in particular, we were visiting remote tribes with an EKOCenter. I was thrilled at the idea of getting to see firsthand the impact Coke has had in developing. As an Atlanta resident, Coca-Cola is our lifeblood in this town. I love the brand, have worked with them for years and so it was exciting to get to witness their far-reaching impact. We hope that this South Africa Coca Cola EKOCenter Sustains and Powers the World post inspires you. 

South Africa Coca Cola EKOCenter Sustains and Powers the World

Coca-Cola has collaborated with public and private sector organizations to create the Coca-Cola EKOCenter Philanthropic Social Good Initiative. The primary objective of this initiative is to provide clean water to over 1 billion people in the world who don't have access to it. To achieve this goal, Coca-Cola is creating EKOCenters that will help boost social and economic development. In this text, we'll take an in-depth look at this initiative and how Coca-Cola plans to implement it.

What is EKOCenter?

EKOCenter is essentially a community market that provides an area where people can gather and access solar power, clean water, and the internet. This center will be operated by a woman entrepreneur. This initiative is part of Coca-Cola's plans to provide a sustainable future. The EKOCenter will be “off-the-grid” and will focus on providing basic services to the local community. While clean water, internet access, and solar power are the three key features that Coca-Cola is currently offering, they plan to add more services in the future, such as vaccination storage, social and entertainment facilities, power generation for phone charging, and education offerings.

EKOCenter Beginnings

This initiative was launched in 2013 when Coca-Cola introduced the prototype of the EKOCenter in Johannesburg, Africa. Since then, they have dedicated an entire management team to the ongoing development of the area. The initial pilot phase of the EKOCenter initiative is set to be completed by the beginning of 2015, and 23 units will be placed in a variety of countries around the world that lack clean water, including Ghana, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Vietnam, and Tanzania. To deliver these pilot units, Coca-Cola has partnered exclusively with a German company called SOLARKIOSK, which specializes in developing similar off-the-grid kiosks.

Current Direction

Coca-Cola's 2016 and beyond roadmap for the EKOCenter includes entertainment, solar energy, refrigeration, internet access, hygiene education, solar-powered products, clean water, basic goods, mobile charging, vaccine storage, and Coca-Cola products. Although they plan to offer a wide range of services in these EKOCenters, their primary focus is on providing clean water and promoting their 5by20 initiative.

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How This Initiative is Being Held by Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is establishing these EKOCenters with the help of business, government, and civil society, which they have grouped as the “Golden Triangle.” Through this triangle, Coca-Cola plans to turn this initiative into a long-term one. They aim to use the combined knowledge, resources, and finances to foster innovation in these EKOCenters now and in the future. The primary companies they partner with include IBM, Inter-American Development Bank, McCann Health, and the Global Environment and Technology Fund. Furthermore, they have collaborated with multiple governments and communities in which they operate to ensure that their EKOCenter is successful and makes a positive impact within each of these communities by empowering them to act.

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South Africa Coca Cola EKOCenter Sustains and Powers the World

This life-changing trip has forever changed my mind (in an even more positive way) about the good that Coca-Cola does in its communities worldwide. We hope that this South Africa Coca Cola EKOCenter Sustains and Powers the World post inspires you. Thanks for reading!

Many images in this post are thanks to Sally Whittle from Who’s the Mummy? blog.

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