American beverage multinational Coca-Cola Monday signed a $100 million agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to fund women micro-distributors (MDCs) in the company’s value chain across Africa and Eurasia.

According to THISDAY, the agreement which was signed in the US, is a three-year joint initiative.

Commenting on the benefit of the grant to Nigeria, Clem Ugorji, Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria, said: “Work related to this initiative is already beginning in Nigeria. Coca-Cola and IFC are working with Access Bank to provide up to $22 million financing to women micro-distributors (MDCs) in the Coca-Cola value chain, in close collaboration with Coca-Cola’s bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company.”

Nathan Kalumbu, President of Eurasia and Africa Group, The Coca-Cola Company, said: “Women entrepreneurs make significant contributions to emerging and developing economies; yet have lower access to finance than their male counterparts. By providing greater access to capital, we are investing in our own success and the success of the communities we serve. We are excited about this opportunity to harness the collective power of our organizations to positively impact women in Eurasia and Africa.”

This innovative partnership with Coca-Cola will help expand access to finance for thousands of women who are part of the company’s supply and distribution chain.”

“The collaboration builds on the synergies between Coca-Cola’s 5 by 20 Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative and IFC’s Banking on Women Program to help address barriers women entrepreneurs commonly face in some of the world’s poorest countries,” THISDAY reported.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, established in 1956. is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries.