Coca-Cola marks 100 years of going public

Leading global beverage firm, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) has marked its 100th anniversary of its initial public offering.

James Quincey, who led Senior executives and Board members of TCCC to the New York Stock Exchange recently, rang the opening bell, in commemoration of the centenary celebration.

Speaking on the milestone, the global CEO, James Quincey, said, “Not many brands make it this far and not many have been able to grow at the speed that we have. It is a testament to the work that goes on behind the scenes and also thanks to our loyal consumers and investors across the world. It’s a big day for us and it’s a good time to look optimistically into the future.”

With strong presence in over 200 countries, The Coca-Cola Company and its beverage brands continue to drive economic growth across markets, making it one of the most popular brands globally.

Over the years, The Coca-Cola Company has taken the lead in good business, committing huge resources in laudable sustainability initiatives across its markets.

In 2009, Coca-Cola launched Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) to improve access to safe drinking water for African communities. A total of over 4 million people have been impacted under this initiative.

With profits comes responsibility, and The Coca-Cola Company has continued to invest; in women through its 5by20 global programme that has committed to the empowerment of 5 million women by 2020, right up to its World Without Waste campaign which has committed to retrieve and recycle equivalent of every product package by 2030.

Nigeria, being its biggest market in Africa, is not left out of the beverage giants’ good efforts.

With the launch of the Safe Birth Initiative, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals and an NGO, Medshare International Inc., has provided equipment and supplies, capability development of biomedical engineers as well as resuscitation and repairs of abandoned medical equipment in 15 government hospitals across the country worth a total conservative value of about $10.8 million, i.e. over N3.8 billion.

The Safe Birth Initiative is a critical intervention that aims to tackle the high rate of maternal and newborn deaths in Nigeria.

Another critical intervention in the healthcare space is the Project Last Mile – a public-private partnership working to make life-saving medicines available to people who need them most, to improve access to vaccinations by strengthening public sector refrigeration, or “cold chain” capacity using our vast experience in distribution and cold chain equipment management.

This partnership is working together to create a positive cycle that builds human capital, reduces future healthcare costs, and contributes to national development.

As the company continues to grow in Nigeria despite shifting economic scenarios, its prosperity has become a beacon of hope as it stretches its wings of sustainable and humanitarian action in the country and across the African continent.