Extending into its business network, Coca-Cola Malaysia on Monday welcomed Uber and local quick service restaurant success story Marrybrown into its Coca-Cola Ku programme to share their experiences with participants on starting up successful brands and keeping relevant to everchanging consumer needs including offering high quality service and products.
Coca-Cola KU, which stands for Coca-Cola Komuniti Usahawan, provides training for micro business owners and university undergraduates to help them succeed with a goal of economically empowering 20,000 entrepreneurs in Malaysia by 2020.
The Coca-Cola KU training programme covers how to start a new business, keeping daily records, manage income and expenses, manage cash flow and credit, and manage quality and service. There are also modules on how to understand the business, market it, develop a budget, draw up a business plan, manage inventory and how to grow the business.
Launched earlier this year in Putrajaya, the programme is rolling out across 14 public universities throughout Malaysia, reaching some 14,000 students. To date, the programme has been brought to students in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Jabatan Pendidikan Politeknik Shah Alam and Universiti Malaysia Perlis.
“Coca-Cola KU is part of our investment in Malaysia and equips these women, as well as men, with the skills and knowledge for them maximize their income sources, which will have a powerful and positive impact on the community as a whole,” said Gareth McGeown, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola’s Bottling Investment Group Singapore-Malaysia-Brunei.
“What we hope to achieve by reinvesting in the communities where we are present is to increase their incomes, create more jobs and stimulate investment back into local communities,” said McGeown.
Coca-Cola KU is part of the company’s global commitment to enable the economic empowerment of 5 million women entrepreneurs across the company’s value chain by 2020 through its 5by20 initiative.
Also on Monday, the Minister of Domestic Trade Co-operatives and Consumerism Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, visited Coca-Cola’s bottling plant in Bandar Enstek, Nilai along with ministry officials, university representatives and retailers to share best practices in inspiring and empowering local women in rural areas to become entrepreneurs.
The official visit by the Minster is part of the collaborative efforts between the Coca-Cola Malaysia and Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism (MDTCC) under the “Coca-Cola KU via KPDNKK”’ programme.
During the visit, guests also had the opportunity to see first-hand one of the most sophisticated bottling plants in the region, which is the Halal production hub for the Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei markets producing beverages under the Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, A&W, Schweppes, Glaceau, Heaven and Earth, Minute Maid Pulpy and Dasani brands.