Mintirho Foundation
CCBSA helped to establish one of South Africa’s most successful agricultural empowerment projects that supports historically disadvantaged farmers and small suppliers of inputs.
The Coca-Cola Beverages Company South Africa (CCBSA) Mintirho Foundation was formed to promote the development of historically disadvantaged farmers and small suppliers of inputs in the CCBSA value chain through the funding of sustainable businesses. The foundation was formed as a result of the Competition Commision conditions agreed upon as part of the large merger between Coca-Cola Bottlers in South Africa.
Aims, beneficiaries and objectives
We anticipate achieving the aims of the foundation through funding starting at R1 million, using a range of financial instruments.
The fund offers expansion capital that enables increased production of existing capacity and commercialisation of historically disadvantaged farmers and small suppliers of inputs. This will enable them to supply CCBSA and Appletiser, as well as other end users, through strategic arrangements. This will also enable the creation of real social value in the form of increased profitability and job creation in those operations.
We also look at upstream and downstream businesses that provide support to enable the commercialisation of farmers in our value chain e.g. juicing, tanking etc.
The Founder
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) is the largest Coca-Cola bottling partner in Africa, accounting for about 40% of all Coca-Cola volumes sold in Africa. The company’s South African operations trade as Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA), which is the largest Coca-Cola bottler in South Africa. The Coca-Cola Company, has been investing in Africa for 90 years, since 1928, and is present in every African country, with over 70 000 employees across 145 bottling and canning facilities.
We are committed to the future of South Africa and its developing community. This forms part of our CCBA vision for sustainability and is expressed as:
- REFRESHED AFRICA (our supply chain): We sustainably source our key agricultural ingredients, complying with industry standards, where applicable; and
- EMPOWERED AFRICA (our employees and communities): We locally source 80% of our inputs with clear indigenisation projects in place to develop local suppliers, and we improve commercial viability for small scale farmers who supply us.
Establishment of the trust
The merger conditions that we have agreed with the Competition Commission are a reflection of our commitment. We have committed to set up a fund for the development of the agricultural value chain, particularly the support and training of historically disadvantaged developing farmers and historically disadvantaged or small suppliers of inputs for Appletiser SA and CCBSA products with a view to making them competitive and sustainable.
Our agricultural value chain includes grapes, lemons, oranges, litchis, mangos, peaches, apples, pears and guavas, all of which are consumed in our supply chain as juice or juice concentrate, and of course, sugar. This fund is held in a Trust which supports qualifying beneficiaries with grants, loans, equity and quasi-equity, as well as training and development
Vision
Our vision is to see:
- A transformed agricultural sector;
- Enable the creation of economic access to markets for historically disadvantaged and developing farmers;
- Creation of strategic partnerships where we work together with likeminded stakeholders to deliver tangible economic value;
- Become the most valued partner in Agricultural Development and
- Ensure the sustainability of flourishing farmers and small suppliers of inputs.
Funding
The objective of the funds under the control of the Foundation is to support training of historically disadvantaged developing farmers (“Black Farmers”) and historically disadvantaged small suppliers of inputs (“Black Suppliers”) for products of the CCBSA Group and to provide the disbursement of grants/ loans/ equity as well as training, as contemplated in the BBBEE Codes of Supplier Development as defined in the BBBEE Act.
Visit the Mintirho Foundation website for the Qualifying Investment Criteria and to apply for funding.
Bongimpumelelo Trading Pty (Ltd)
Sugarcane
Vusumuzi Gumede developed the desire to become selfsustaining as a young farmer under the mentorship of his father, himself a medium-scale grower. When Vusumuzi acquired a long-term lease and a R1.5m loan from Gledhow Sugar Company, he was determined to make a success of the challenge ahead.
A Mintirho Foundation Trust grant could not have come at a better time, because he was able to replant 70ha of sub-standard ratoons and he is now on his way to settling the loan from Gledhow by December 2020 and kick off 2021 on a positive financial footing.
