Coca-Cola to extend assistance to women sari-sari store owners

INTERNATIONAL beverage company Coca-Cola committed to assist 200,000 women sari-sari store operators in the country within the next six years in acknowledgement of their crucial contribution to the country’s economy.

In an interview last week, Coca-Cola Philippines sustainability manager Gilda Mauilan said they specifically targeted women sari-sari store owners because in the country, there are more women who operates sari-sari store.

“Women sets up sari-sari stores to augment the family income which they use to help send the kids to school. That has a critical role in helping the economy,” she said.

Coca Cola will extend assistance to women sari-sari store ownere through their STAR Program or Sari-Sari Store Training and Access to Resources Program.

“We provide them with the necessary training neede to manage and grow their stores and then we link them with our partner lending companies.”

Training

The program was launched in 2011 in partnership with the Technical Education and Skills and Development Authority (Tesda) for lending organizations like Alay sa Kaunlaran, Inc. for Luzon area, Negros Women for Tomorrow for Visayas and Palawan area and First Community Cooperative for Mindanao area.

There are four business modules that the women undergo training for with Tesda.

“After they complete all that, the next phase will be the Access to Resources wherein we link them with our partner organizations that provide them fund assistance that they can use to grow their business,” she said.

Mauilan said they have so far reached 30,000 women sari-sari store owners in the program since they started three years ago.

Requirement

“In Cebu we have a thousand, 3,000 in Tacloban and 2,000 in Bacolod. We will be going around more especially in areas hit by the Yolanda supertyphoon to help more women,” she said.

Mauilan said they plan to get more women sari-sari store owners in areas hit by Yolanda in Cebu since they only have a thousand here.

“The requirement is that you have a sari-sari store for at least six months already and that you are willing to learn,” she said.

Parol lighting

The STAR Program is Coca Cola Philippines’ program to take part of the global target of Coca Cola to empower five million women entrepreneurs by 2020.

They were recently in Tacloban for the last leg of their STAR Program Christmas Convention where they gathered close to 5,000 women sari-sari owners.

Other areas they also visited are Manila, Davao, Batangas, Pampanga and Bacolod.

There will also be nationwide STAR parol lighting ceremonies on Nov. 8 by all the sari-sari stores under the program to signal Coca-Cola’s way of celebrating Christmas this year.