Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) is making significant investments in capabilities to create an agile workplace that is engaging and productive, developing the skills of employees to compete in a digital age of artificial intelligence and big data.

“CCBA’s digital transformation journey is an integral component to take us into the future, remain relevant and future-proof our business. It will give us a competitive advantage, the agility to anticipate and respond to changes in our environment and satisfy and respond to customers and consumers’ real-time needs,” said the company’s chief people and culture officer, Cathy Albertyn.

“This is especially relevant as we mark World Youth Skills Day because we know that the future of work will involve integrating new digital technologies with a highly skilled workforce to remain competitive.

“Young people in the early stages of their careers will benefit in the future from acquiring the skills to use this technology to the greatest effect. As we digitalise our business, our employees are learning these sought-after skills.

“We are digitalising our business processes in many ways, including through a single end-to-end enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform. 

“This ERP platform will meet our business’ current and future needs, across all our markets, while providing data-driven real-time business intelligence. 

CCBA is also accelerating its participation in the digital economy through its e-commerce platform, MyCCBA. The platform assists sales teams by empowering customers to place orders directly with CCBA online, from any device, at any time, to better meet their needs.

“By investing in MyCCBA, we enhance the customer experience of our fastest-growing channel, ensuring customer loyalty and repeat business,” said Albertyn.

This platform is currently rolled out in South Africa and Kenya, with over 34,000 registered customers in South Africa and over 3,500 customers in Kenya, with up to 5,500 daily visitors to the site. Mozambique and Ethiopia have also just launched, with two more countries planned in 2023.

These initiatives will accelerate CCBA’s operations to world-class levels, equipping employees with valuable skills in an increasingly digital world of work.

“At CCBA, we have an inspiring work environment, where highly skilled people feel challenged, engaged and motivated,” said Albertyn.

CCBA also supports youth to become more employable through its Graduates in Training programmes.

Last year, for example, CCBA in Mozambique recruited graduates in the fields of Mechatronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Transportation, Mechanical Engineering and Informatics and Telecommunication Engineering.

The company established partnerships with public and private universities across the country and signed a partnership with a non-profit organisation, Field Ready, to support the recruitment and selection of talented graduates in training.

The graduates each have a one-year contract and need to develop a project or more in each function according to the needs of the function, with some focusing on resolving operational issues and others developing custom apps.

In Namibia, half the students recruited into CCBA in Namibia’s Graduate Internship Training programme were female. They will be intensively trained, coached and exposed to various functions and will be expected to bring new ideas, innovation, passion and drive to the company. The programme runs over 12 months, after which the opportunity exists to be considered for a permanent placement in the company.

“Our aim is to create greater shared opportunity for the business and the communities we serve across the value chain. Opportunity is more than just money, it’s about a better future for people and their communities everywhere on the African continent,” said Albertyn.

“When we grow our business the right way, not just the easy way, we help create inclusive growth opportunities for our communities, women and youth, our customers, our employees and our shareholders, for a better shared future.”