--- title: "CCBSA drives economic growth and youth empowerment across South Africa" description: "At Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA), we are committed to building economic inclusion and sustainability solutions that benefit our stakeholders, in particular, the communities in which we are invested." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "Sponsored Content" author: "Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/coca-cola-beverages-south-africa/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-06-26-ccbsa-drives-economic-growth-and-youth-empowerment-across-south-africa/" published: "2024-06-26T16:25:09" updated: "2024-06-28T12:23:11" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 707 --- # CCBSA drives economic growth and youth empowerment across South Africa > At Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA), we are committed to building economic inclusion and sustainability solutions that benefit our stakeholders, in particular, the communities in which we are invested. By Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa · Published 26 June 2024, 18:25 SAST · Updated 28 June 2024, 14:23 SAST ## Key points - CCBSA is on a mission to uplift communities through a refreshing blend of economic empowerment initiatives, from supporting small businesses with Bizniz in a Box to fueling education through the Study Buddy Fund, all while brewing up a sustainable future for both business and society. ## Content As part of the Coca-Cola system, CCBSA has a strong history of enhancing the livelihoods of the people in the communities we proudly serve. We continue to help enable the economic empowerment of a diverse network of customers, suppliers and communities across our value chain. We have adopted the two pillars of employability and entrepreneurship as a framework for our economic inclusion strategy. Through programmes such as Bizniz in a Box and our Study Buddy Fund, we enable women and young people to access better future opportunities. Also, through our support for small suppliers to our business, we are providing meaningful economic opportunities and enhanced livelihoods. We are committed to developing sustainable ways to produce, distribute and sell our products, and to create shared value for the business and the communities where we operate. ![CCBSA’s Bizniz in a Box (BiB) initiative has seen the company support hundreds of emerging and small businesses across South Africa](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/E-_Fm6YLvsLtwkxJ-fAS93kZzNk=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CCBSA-BiB-Olifantsfontein-2.jpg) *CCBSA’s Bizniz in a Box (BiB) initiative has seen the company support hundreds of emerging and small businesses across South Africa* ### **Investing in Education** Our Study Buddy Fund comprises four pillars: *Bursary Programme* The bursary programme offers financial support to academically strong students from disadvantaged backgrounds who meet university entry requirements. *University Partnership* Through partnerships with universities, funding is made available to enrolled students who face financial challenges and lack access to bursaries or support from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). *Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College Support* This supports young people who do not meet university entrance requirements by focusing on technical skills development tailored to the CCBSA value chain, including fields such as electrical and mechanical engineering. *Ligbron E-Learning Programme* We use e-learning to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics and science. ![Study Buddy student](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/W8mXqRFYxsFlw7lGOmlIONq4Hvo=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/studdy-buddy-student.png) *Study Buddy student* ### **Supporting the SMME Sector** CCBSA launched the Bizniz in a Box (BiB) initiative in 2016 to support small businesses, particularly those run by youth and women. Bizniz in a Box’s primary focus is to create an ecosystem of viable micro-businesses offering complementary products and services in a community, using a spaza shop as the anchor. Each business operates out of a custom-designed container. Since its inception, CCBSA has supported hundreds of entrepreneurs across a number of provinces, including Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. ![CCBSA’s Bizniz in a Box (BiB) initiative has seen the company support hundreds of emerging and small businesses, particularly those run by youth and women, and especially in informal and rural areas.](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/XkdMbPIpina_pC6GWE3L0-CFYNs=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/BiB-Pic-1.jpg) *CCBSA’s Bizniz in a Box (BiB) initiative has seen the company support hundreds of emerging and small businesses, particularly those run by youth and women, and especially in informal and rural areas.* ### **Empowerment Through Local Procurement and Enterprise Development** At CCBSA, we aim to strengthen local procurement, enhance local supplier development programmes and increase financial support. We do this in a number of ways, including by identifying and addressing some of the obstacles SMMEs face, such as access to funding and markets. We have designed programmes such as our SMME fund, called Khulanathi, to accelerate the growth and development of small and medium sized enterprises. Khulanathi means “grow with us” in isiZulu. We also run regional Supplier Skills Summits where entrepreneurs participate in a series of workshops focused on capacity building and skills development programmes, as well as business leadership content and insights. Each Supplier Skills Summit is followed by an Access to Markets Bootcamp, an exclusive networking event that connects SMMEs with senior executives of South African businesses to help facilitate introductions and engagement around opportunities offered by large corporates. A further programme we have invested in is our Enterprise Supplier Development Postgraduate Diploma in Management Practice which we run in conjunction with the Henley Business School. These form part of our transformation and sustainability journey as we look to empower SMME owners with the knowledge, insights and skills to allow them to grow their businesses. By supporting and growing SMMEs, we can help unlock a better future for enterprising individuals, their families and employees, as well as the wider community. Economic growth is vital to the socio-economic wellbeing of communities. ![Over a thousand young leaders had the opportunity to engage with industry experts exploring avenues for nurturing entrepreneurship, crafting innovative solutions, cultivating skills, and attracting global green economy investments, as part of contributing to the shared vision of a more sustainable world.](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/pyrRRj9AvM122mMcQ2mWIg7aDB0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/DSC_5797.jpg) *Over a thousand young leaders had the opportunity to engage with industry experts exploring avenues for nurturing entrepreneurship, crafting innovative solutions, cultivating skills, and attracting global green economy investments, as part of contributing to the shared vision of a more sustainable world.* ### **Fostering Sustainable Growth and Social Inclusion** People matter. Our planet matters. We believe in doing business the right way by following our values and working toward solutions that benefit us all. **DM** ![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CCBSA-logo_jpeg.jpg)