Thousands of enterprises benefit from Coca-Cola training on Vicoba

By Beatrice Philemon

Coca Cola

A Total of 13,000 members of Vicoba Sustainable Development Agency (VSDA) located at Kijitonyama area in Kinondoni District have benefited from five to 20 projects established by the Coca-Cola Company in partnership with VSDA.


This was said recently in Dar es Salaam by VSDA’s Planning Coordinator, Mary Joel, while briefing journalists on the quarterly meeting held in Mwanza earlier this year.

She said the VSDA members were benefited in terms of training and equipment, noting that members were also trained on various issues relating to their businesses and obtained equipment free of charge to run their ventures more effectively.

The VSDA members were also trained on business operation, business control system, how to identify profit and loss, how to search for market for their products and how to compete.

The project was official started in December last year to help Vicoba’s members sell coca cola products.

After the training, Coca Cola gives them a fridge, ice box, chairs, table and umbrella free of charge so that they can sell Coca Cola products in conducive environment and benefit from this business.

“As VSDA we express thanks to Coca cola Company for introducing this project because through it our members have managed to change their livelihood, raise their income and even contribute to the national income,” she noted.
The beneficiaries were from Dar es Salaam, Coast region, Iringa, Mbeya, Ruvuma, Zanzibar, Dodoma, Morogoro and Mtwara regions.

12,000 members were trained, 12 VSDA’s members received fridges, 8 people received chairs and tables, and 52 members have received ice boxes.

A total of 900 chairmen, permanent secretaries and accountants have been trained on various issues relating to village community banks (Vicoba) so that they can lead the members to implement their projects properly and use the allocated funds for the intended goals.

The training was offered to them for three months depending on their sectors with the support from VSDA.

“Presently VDSA has already formed a total of 30 sectors in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar to support and supervise the VSDA’s members engaged in different project,” she said.

Members were trained on accounting and planning issues, implementation, accountancy, how to use gas instead of firewood, banking and gender issues, how to search business opportunities, benefits of Vicoba, how to supervise and operate them, and other issues relating to this system.

“As VSDA we have targeted the said people because they are the main controllers of Vicoba groups,” she explained adding that this is the VSDA’s strategy designed to train high top leaders so that they can become trainers to train other members. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN