Following the success of the 2011/12 Coca-Cola Pakistan and Kashf Foundation partnership to promote women empowerment, Coca-Cola has extended its project appropriately titled “Women Economic Empowerment” for another year. A further grant of Rs. 9.8 million will be utilized for establishing sustainable income streams to economically empower women through microfinance. The project intends to provide direct financial access via soft loans to 350 female clients from South Punjab and Sindh, whilst simultaneously building support networks and developing personalized entrepreneurial skills amongst the beneficiaries, to augment their business acumen. It is projected that within 2 years, these women entrepreneurs will already be seeing a 10% increase in their annual income. Speaking about the Coca-Cola and Kashf Partnership, Rizwan U. Khan, General Manager, the Coca-Cola Export Corporation, Pakistan and Afghanistan stated: “At Coca-Cola we believe that women are a vital pillar of society and an integral facet for the economic development of Pakistan. The Coca-Cola and KASHF Partnership serves as a prime example of empowering women and communities to help build a sustainable tomorrow for the people of Pakistan.”
