ColaLife makes it into the Skype Video Library
November 21, 2009 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
I was prompted to download the latest version of Skype this evening and was very excited to find that as well as a photo you can add a profile video! But then was disappointed that you can’t select your own video, you have to choose one from a (slightly dubious) library. I was about to give up but before I did I thought I’d do a search for ColaLife and this David Berman video popped up as an option! ColaLife gets a great mention in this video which I featured in a previous post. So. Upgrade your Skype and choose this video for your profile!
Help to raise the profile of ColaLife on our Birthday
May 18, 2009 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Would you like to do something really significant on the birthday of ColaLife’s Facebook Group? If yes, then please comment on these two independent articles: click on the links below and add a comment, mentioning ColaLife, to the article you see. This will really help raise our profile. Thanks.
Business Week
Coke: On Doing Well by Doing Go
Your comment won’t appear immediately as comments are moderated
Onwards and upwards!
ColaLife gets mention in HARVARD report
May 17, 2009 by Simon Berry · 3 Comments
Last week the HARVARD Kennedy School and the IFC published their report into the research into Coca-Cola’s Manual Distribution System undertaken in East Africa in the summer of 2008. We reported on this here. The report can be downloaded here: harvard-ifc-mdc-summary-report-final (PDF, 2.3 MB).
The good news is that ColaLife is mentioned:
In November 2008, once the study’s initial findings were available, Coca-Cola convened a multi-stakeholder dialogue in Tanzania to seek input on the fi ndings. The session was attended by development practitioners from the NGO, government and international agency community to debate and explore some of the research recommendations in more detail. Co-facilitated by Business Action for Africa and the International Business Leaders Forum, the dialogue included a wide range of participants including local, regional and international representatives from organizations such as Save the Children, Population Services International, Enablis, CARE International, Colalife, the U.K.’s Department for International Development, the United States Agency for International Development, SNV Netherlands Development Corporation and UNICEF.
And so does the distribution of social products:
In these two countries and others where the MDC model is being implemented, there is potential to leverage this network of thousands of small enterprises that are located in low-income communities to achieve broader development goals, such as the distribution of social products or support for social marketing. This broader effort cannot and should not be the responsibility of the company alone. Nor must it undermine the core commercial viability of these small enterprises. Failure to maintain profi tability would clearly undermine the business model and thereby jeopardize the long-term contribution it can make to development. Yet, by working in partnership with other companies, donors, government bodies or development experts there is potential for the network of MDCs to be leveraged in a targeted way to address other development needs.
This is a huge achievement given that this was the starting point . . . . when there was no mention of social products at all:
Find more videos like this on Business Fights Poverty
Simply brilliant!
ColaLife Pods - what the frontline thinks
November 27, 2008 by Simon Berry · 17 Comments
I have written so much about what has happened over the last two days but I have not quite finished or publshed anything yet (it will come). But the video below sums it all up. The context is as follows. Today I went out with Benito Xaverly, one of the Area Sales Manager for Dar Es Salaam. He’s a Business Administration graduate and until recently he worked for Pepsi. He had not heard of ColaLife before we got in the vehicle and started on our journey. We visited 7 of the 17 MDCs that he manages and I took the mock-up ColaLife Pods I made yesterday. Here they are in Coca-Cola crates. They fitted!
Here is the video. The first 1min 15secs is in Swahili as Benito explains the ColaLife idea to the people who work at the MDC. Then it breaks into English . . . . it’s very interesting what is said . . . .
Tomorrow I’m going to try and hook up with an NGO that operates locally that I think could help move this idea into a pilot phase: PSI Tanzania
Plans for Tanzania trip
November 22, 2008 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Image credit: Rory McCann
I’m packing for the big trip! Here is an outline of my plans. The most important thing to note though is that I intend to load a daily report here starting on the evening of Tuesday, 24/11 (internet connection permitting - but I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to get one). Thanks again to the BBC for agreeing to contribute £100 to the costs of this.
I’ve set up Skype on my laptop so hopefully that will work. I’m sxberry. I’ll also be tweeting but only when I have an internet connection as i will not be able to afford the mobile phone charges. On twitter I am 51m0n.
The itinerary
23/11 - Monday - depart Heathrow 20:00 for Dar Es Salaam via Doha
24/11- Tuesday - arrive 13:35 - field trips organised by Coca-Cola
25/11 - Wednesday - all day meeting to discuss research findings (a rep from DfID will be there)
26-27/11 - Thursday & Friday - carrying out local research
28/11 - Saturday - depart Dar Es Salaam
29/11 - Sunday - arrive Heathrow
Background reading
Coca-Cola have suggested we have a look at these two documents on ‘Business Linkages’
Business Linkages: Lessons, Opportunities and Challenges (PDF)
International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) and Harvard Kennedy School (Harvard University)
with support from Business Action For Africa & Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
Supporting Entrepreneurship at the Base of the Pyramid through Business Linkages (PDF)
Report of a Roundtable Dialogue
June 10-12, 2008, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) and Harvard Kennedy School (Harvard University)
I hope I can do justice to all the support ColaLife has received to get this far. I’ll do my best!
Coca-Cola invites ColaLife to Dar Es Salaam!
October 25, 2008 by Simon Berry · 16 Comments
Image credit: Rory McCann
Following on from last week’s excitment around our application to Google’s Project 10^100 and the associated ColaLife video, there is another significant development.
True to his word, Salvatore Gabola of Coca-Cola has invited me to a 2-day stakeholder meeting in Dar Es Salaam on 25-26 November to discuss the findings of their research into their distribution network which Adrian Ristow has been reporting on here. The meeting will make recommendations for the pilots* that will be carried out based on the research findings.
This is hugely significant. I’ve re-arranged my diary and suspended my no-fly pledge for this trip. Like the original interest and coverage from the BBC, this would never have happened if we hadn’t all been able to get together here, on the Facebook Group, in the Flickr Group and using Google Group Mailing List.
At this stage I only have limited information on the meeting, there’s been no agenda issued yet. But I do know that about 20 people have been invited, mostly local stakeholders. International invitees include DfID and Oxfam and someone from Harvard (who were involved in the research) will be facilitating the meeting.
Anyway - I need help with the planning. I’m going to stay on for a couple of days after the meeting to gather information and materials the ColaLife campaign needs. Your thoughts please! What should be on the to-do list?
* The main idea of the pilots is to see how the growth of Coca-Cola’s distribution network could be done in a way that maximises the impact on poverty reduction. This means we are going to have to work hard to get the ColaLife idea as part of the pilots but that’s our objective.
More ideas for the pilot phase
October 12, 2008 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Adrian Ristow writes:
During my time in New York in September I took advantage of the influx of leaders from the development community to meet with a few potential partners and advisors for the MDC project. There are lots of ways to use this growing network of Manual Distribution Centres. As well as piloting the use of the network to meet a social need, as in Simon’s Colalife idea, some other key opportunities are also emerging. These include the potential for improved micro-finance support and a broader education and training offering. If each person associated with the MDC network finds their skills growing all the time even beyond just this business that’s a real win and contribution.
It also becomes clearer to me how important it is to get development experts and other interested stakeholders together for the brainstorming session to assist our project team. We need to translate the broad findings of the research into practical and manageable solutions which not only stretch our thinking, but also protect distributors’ incomes. As has been previously found, one of the critical success factors of the distribution network is that everyone in the chain is able to generate some form of income from it and this principle has to be considered at all times.
We are at an advanced stage in planning for this next critical step in the project. The stakeholder convening is targeted for Dar-es-Salaam in late November. This meeting will be facilitated by an independent development expert and we hope to emerge from the session with some practical ideas to test in the pilot phase. More on this in my next message….
Catch you soon.
Adrian
Is Business the answer?
October 5, 2008 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Adrian Ristow writes:
Having spent some time in New York recently at the UN’s End Poverty event, and being a bit of a philosopher, I am going to take the liberty of sharing a few general personal thoughts… I know that some people get a bit skeptical that weeks such as these involve a lot of talk (and yes there was a lot of talk!) and not enough action. But I must say that I am encouraged by the passion and energy that I see in a growing number of people. It has to start somewhere and I feel that more and more ordinary people are also now becoming aware of the world’s key issues and want to do something about them. Social media such as Simon’s blog (this ColaLife blog) are no doubt playing a role in this education process and I think that there is an emerging generation of business people who take a much stronger interest in development problems. Okay, okay, off my soapbox and back to the MDC project.
During October we have been tying up some loose ends on the research report with the IFC and Kennedy School of Government. This research is really helping us to frame our next steps in the project. In parallel to this I am happy to say that since The Coca-Cola Company’s initial submission to the Business Call to Action early in 2008, we have calculated that over 500 new Manual Distribution Centres (MDCs) have been opened in East and West Africa, meaning new direct employment for around 2,500 people as well. So, while we focus on improving the development impact of the model through our Tanzanian project, the general momentum continues as more people are set up in their own small businesses on the continent, which is really positive.
Adrian
Adrian reports from the UN
September 30, 2008 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Adrian Ristow writes:
My first time at UN week (22-26 September, 2008) in New York.
Wow, what an experience! I knew that there was something special on the go when I couldn’t get near the entrance to my hotel because the secret service had blocked off a number of roads in Manhattan.
In between the anxiety caused by the financial crisis in the US and the Presidential debate I am pleased to say that there was quite a lot of discussion about the Millennium Development Goals and a lot of focus on Africa as well at many different events.
Besides the main UN events, there were a number of development focused events taking place, the most notable that I had some involvement with being the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).
A real highlight of the week for me was being able to attend the awards ceremony of the CGI which recognizes individual commitment to the world’s major problems. It was a treat to be able to sit right next to the stage and hear James Taylor singing an awesome version of ‘Friend’ - hopefully a prophetic statement from those gathered in New York towards Africa.
Adrian
Adrian Ristow, has been reporting here, on the ColaLife blog, on the research being carried out by Coca-Cola into their distribution network in Tanzania and Ethiopia.
Sustainability: building a system with people not for people
September 5, 2008 by Simon Berry · Leave a Comment
Image credit: Tielman Nieuwoudt
Here’s the latest from Adrian Ristow who’s been leading the research into Coca-Cola distribution in east Africa:
A bit of a gap in communication from me - but my August has been a bit different this year; I had to spend some time back in South Africa on some other work. But the MDC (Manual Distribution Centre) research project has been on my mind and I’m as excited as ever about the future - ’super excited’, as some of my super American friends would say
I’ve spent a lot of time speaking to MDC owners and their staff, as well as with the key sales staff from the local bottling company, to get a deeper understanding of the current reality and future potential. So much so that I’m dreaming Coca-Cola dreams at night and visiting MDCs in my sleep! Maybe that’s not such a bad thing: nothing happens if you don’t have a dream, and my ultimate vision is for this system to spread and grow - beyond what any of us can imagine at present.
A key goal was to understand better the current community benefits of the locally-owned distribution businesses, through the eyes of external researchers. We also wanted to get a clearer understanding of the priority social issues facing MDC owners, their staff and the surrounding communities. This feedback will help us find ways to enhance the community benefit from the MDCs, while importantly not risking the income of the entrepreneurs who earn their livelihoods from these businesses. We’re not looking for a trade-off or a compromise, but a win:win solution that will let the market work for us.
One of my biggest challenges is patience. It would be great to do everything now, but then I am reminded that we are dealing with an extensive network of independently owned small businesses. We want to build a unique and sustainable solution with them not for them, which can take a bit of time.
However, we’ll soon be able to move from the research phase and building the conceptual understanding to some practical on-the-ground testing. Now our team are reviewing and analysing the research data that we collected during July, and we’re aiming to share some key findings towards the end of September. So watch this space!
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