When you empower a woman you empower a nation, is a statement The Coca-Cola Company has always been committed to.The Company believes that women hold economic potential and are equal contributors to the world’s shared success.

The Coca-Cola Company focuses on empowering women in the workplace and beyond through all its strategic approaches. Putting this in action, Bottlers Nepal Limited (the authorized bottler of The Coca-Cola Company) has been imparting Shopkeeper Training and Resources “STAR’ Program as a part of its global initiative 5by20,that aims to economically empower 5 million women across the value chain by the year 2020.

The program aims to provide Nepali women retailers with the skills, techniques and tools required to succeed in the dynamic retail setup of Nepal, focusing on 4 key areas of retail: Shop management, Stock management, Customer management & Finance management. A joint coordination between Bottlers Nepal’s Public Affairs Communication and Sustainability (PACS) team and the Sales team have been able to outreach 15cities and several small towns in Nepal to impart trainings to over 5,000 women retailers till date through the program.

“We realized that majority of the retailers in Nepal are women and these women especially in rural areas lack basic retailer and business skills. Through the 5by20 program, we have been aiming to address and support in removing barriers that women retailers are experiencing in their lives. The Company will continue to encourage women’s progress in its value chain and beyond”, said Pradip Pandey, Managing Director of Bottlers Nepal Limited.

In Nepal, we are amazed by the progress we are making towards our global goal to empower 5 million women. We are glad to be a part of this initiation which is supporting in transforming lives and communities of women, making a profound and lasting impact on global issues and also growing our business”,saidAmbuj Sing, Country Director of Coca-Cola in Nepal.

Mina Tamang, a retailer in Rampur and a recent participant of the 5by20 program shared, “17 years back, I opened my shop to support my family. I have been putting all my energy and resources to make the shop profitable. However, there are times when I feel I am perhaps not doing the right things to grow my business further. But fortunately, The Coca-Cola team approached me to attend it’s STAR training program and since then, I have felt a sense of upliftment to keep doing better. The training was motivational, and it helped me to identify both my strengths and weakness. It was inspirational to meet other women retailers and learn from their experiences. I would like to thank Coca-Cola for giving me the opportunity.”