Business
Coca-Cola’s Catalyst for Change Programme Empowers 10,000 women
By Edozie Obasi-Eze
In a quest to improve the lives of underserved women across diverse communities, The Coca-Cola Foundation-funded women empowerment initiative, Catalyst for Change, implemented by a local NGO partner, Karis and Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation, has successfully empowered another batch of 1,000 women in Alimosho, Lagos State.
This makes it a total of 10 communities reached under the scheme with over 10,000 women impacted. The initiative focused on providing business and vocational skills to help lift them out of poverty and marginalization, and finally over 2,000 women provided with start-up kits to help kick-start their small-scale enterprises – 200 of which received start-up kits at the Alimosho closing ceremony.
The Catalyst for Change Scheme is one of Coca-Cola’s several women empowerment and youth development initiatives where women are trained in some essential vocational skills such as pastry making, shoemaking, fashion designing, makeup artistry, wig making, tie and dye, household essentials, and bag making. Some participants were also provided with financial literacy and business management classes around bookkeeping, personal and product branding, social media management, and customer relationship management.
According to the Director, Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, the beneficiaries of the programme are expected to use the skills garnered therefrom to, not only better their personal economic status but to contribute their quota to the economic development of the country.
She highlighted that the company remains focused on women empowerment because of its belief that women are pillars of society and community as reflected in the company’s new Africa sustainability platform, JAMII, which focuses on waste management, water stewardship and wealth creation for women and youths.
She said, “The goal of the just concluded Catalyst for Change 2.0 programme was to integrate underserved women into a growth trajectory that generates value for their families and society and The Coca-Cola System is thrilled about the outcomes and impact stories so far. I am confident that this batch of beneficiaries will attain an even better degree of achievement as they launch out with the skills and support received through the programme”.
Founder, Karis and Eleos Hand of Hope Foundation, Bukola Bamiduro, advised the beneficiaries to continuously create value in their communities through the application and transmission of knowledge while uplifting themselves and others, thereby leading to the formation of a cycle of transgenerational businesses.
Bamiduro said, “The last 10 months have been exciting for us. This is a mini-closing ceremony for Alimosho but this also marks the end of Catalyst for Change 2.0. We have seen the income of our beneficiaries move from $1 per day to $10 per day”.
She thanked The Coca-Cola Foundation for financially supporting the project, saying she hopes to continue to hear inspiring stories from the various beneficiaries across the ten communities reached during the Catalyst for Change programme.
A beneficiary from the Alausa community, Nofisat Adenike, explained that the Catalyst for Change 2.0 programme has changed the way she sees life and business as she has moved on to establish her baking business. This and more remain the success stories of the women who have gone through the programme, taking great learnings and inspiration from their facilitators and coaches.
For Coca-Cola, women empowerment and bridging the gap of opportunities are essential for achieving an inclusive and sustainable society positioned for economic growth. Since 1984, The Coca-Cola Company has contributed more than $1.2 billion to help empower women, protect the environment, and enhance communities, socially and economically, around the world.
Savannah Energy has shared a trading update on its Nigerian operations and other markets in Africa, including up-to-date cash collections in its Nigerian business.
According to the update, made available on Thursday in Lagos, its gross production in Nigeria averaged 23.1 Kboepd for FY 2024, broadly in line with the prior year’s 23.6 Kboepd, of which 88% was gas (FY 2023: 91%).
On the update, CEO of Savannah Energy, Andrew Knott, said, “I am pleased to provide a FY trading update which demonstrates the continued progress we have made in 2024, a year which saw the highest level of cash collections ever recorded by our Nigerian business. 2025 is expected to be an exciting year for our Company: we have a large planned operational programme in Nigeria which is anticipated to enhance both our oil and gas production levels and capacity; we intend to progress our R3 East oil development project in Niger; we continue to pursue key acquisitions in the upstream oil and gas space; and we continue to seek to build our power business.
“Fundamentally, Savannah remains unequivocally an “AND” company, seeking to deliver strong performance both for the short AND long term across multiple fronts, and pursuing growth opportunities in both the hydrocarbon AND power sectors.”
The update It also shows that it generated a Total Income of US$393.6 million in 2024, compared to FY 2023’s US$289.8 million. This consists of Total Revenues of US$258.7 million and Other operating income of US$134.9 million.
The report also shows that Savannah’s FY 2024 Total Revenues were ahead of the previously issued financial guidance of greater than US$245 million, while FY 2024 financial guidance is reiterated for Operating expenses plus administrative expenses at ‘up to US$75 million’. The company expects its FY 2024 capital expenditure to come in lower than planned (previously guided at ‘up to US$50 million’) due to the phasing of spend.
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According to the update, Savannah’s cash collections in 2024 amounted to US$248.5 million, a slight increase from the US$206 million it received in 2023. The report further shows that its cash balances as at 31 December 2024 stood at US$32.6 million, compared to the 31 December 2023 figure of US$107.0 million.
The report shows that the company’s midstream subsidiary, Accugas Limited, had as at 31 December 2024 drawn down on its NGN332 billion of the NGN Transitional Facility, with the resulting funds being converted to US$, which, along with cash held, was used to partially prepay the existing Accugas US$ Facility, leaving a balance as at 31 December 2024 of approximately US$212.3 million.
The report also provided new updates on Accugas’ US$45 million Uquo Central Processing Facility (“Uquo CPF”) compression project in Nigeria, noting that its commissioning which will enable the expansion of gas production in the medium term is well underway.
The report highlighted the progress being made in the procurement process of long lead equipment in Nigeria for a potential two-well drilling campaign on the Uquo Field in H2 2025, with an additional gas development well expected to add up to 80 MMscfpd of supplemental production capacity and a potential exploration well targeting an Unrisked Gross gas initially in place (“GIIP”) of 154 Bscf (25.7 MMboe) of incremental gas resources.
The update shows that progress is also being made in the planned Savannah acquisition of Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Nigeria Limited, whose principal asset is a 49% non-operated interest in the Stubb Creek oil and gas field (“Stubb Creek”), with regulatory approval and completion being targeted in Q1 2025. Following the completion of the acquisition, Savannah intends to commence an expansion programme which is anticipated to increase Stubb Creek gross production from an average of 2.7 Kbopd in 2024 to approximately 4.7 Kbopd.
In Niger, Savannah continues to seek to progress its 35 MMstb (Gross 2C Resources) R3 East oil development in South-East Niger, while it continues to push for a potential alternative transaction structure to acquire a material stake in producing oil and gas assets in South Sudan as previously announced on 20 December 2024.
On the renewable energy front, the update shows that Savannah has up to 696 MW of renewable energy projects currently in motion, including the up to 250 MW Parc Eolien de la Tarka wind farm project in Niger and the up to 95 MW Bini a Warak hybrid hydroelectric and solar project in Cameroon. A firm believer in Africa’s transition to renewable energy, Savannah continues to target a portfolio of up to 2 GW+ of power projects in motion by the end of 2026.
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has projected that the country has the potential to achieve a 5.5% growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) if critical policy reforms are sustained.
This was disclosed on Thursday during the launch of the NESG’s 2025 Macroeconomic Outlook report.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Economist and Director of Research & Development at NESG, Dr. Olusegun Omisakin, highlighted the need for more efficient policy implementation to unlock Nigeria’s economic potential.
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“We believe at the optimal level, if we embark on more efficient policy reforms, the Nigerian economy has the potential, the GDP to end up at 5.5 per cent, and we believe that this is achievable,” Omisakin stated.
More to follow……….
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the release of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Code, a set of guidelines designed to promote ethical conduct among authorized dealers in the country’s FX market.
In a statement, the apex bank disclosed that the official launch of the Code would take place on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, at the CBN Head Office Auditorium in Abuja.
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“The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the release of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Code as a guideline to the banking industry to promote the ethical conduct of authorised dealers in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market,” the statement read.
The introduction of the FX Code is expected to enhance transparency, accountability, and professionalism within Nigeria’s foreign exchange ecosystem, aligning it with global best practices.
The event is anticipated to attract key stakeholders in the financial and banking sectors, as well as representatives from authorized FX-dealing institutions across the country.
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