Date: 20 February 2018
From: Nelson Mandela Foundation
The Nelson Mandela Foundation is proud to welcome PepsiCo as its newest Legacy Partner in a year that marks the centenary of Madiba's birth. The Nelson Mandela Foundation and PepsiCo will embark on a multi-year partnership that will focus on alleviating poverty and advancing the rights of women and girls, a priority for both organisations.
The partnership was announced at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg during an evening celebrating women in leadership hosted by Nelson Mandela Foundation Chief Executive Sello Hatang. Special guests in attendance were Graça Machel and PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi.
Hatang said, "Women remain at the centre of both poverty and inequality and in terms of racism. The intersectional oppressions felt by women from the boardroom to the farm to the homestead remain a concern. Thus the NMF has made gender a cross-cutting issue across all our programmes. We cannot achieve our goals alone, and it is by working closely with partners like PepsiCo that we are enabled to move forward and build a better society for all. Tackling gender inequality is a priority for us this year and I wholeheartedly welcome PepsiCo's commitment to working with us."
Said Nooyi, "All of us at PepsiCo have profound respect and admiration for Madiba, for Graça Machel, and for the work of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and we are thrilled to help advance the Foundation's mission as its newest Legacy Partner. We thank Sello Hatang and everyone at the Nelson Mandela Foundation for the opportunity to share in the year-long celebration, and look forward to working together to honour Madiba's memory by lifting up communities in Johannesburg and across South Africa, with a focus on raising confident daughters, encouraging inspiring women and developing the next generation of strong female leaders."
One of the first projects supported by the new partnership will be the Imbumba Foundation’s Caring4Girls initiative, which provides sanitary towels and feminine hygiene education to help ensure that young girls don’t miss a single day of school during their monthly period. The programme focuses on creating awareness about puberty and adolescence and helps debunk myths about menstruation.
Caring4Girls will also be supported by PepsiCo’s Basadi Network, a female-led employee resource group in South Africa focused on peer networking, mentorship and advancing women within the company.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Lunga Nene
Nelson Mandela Foundation
or
Sarah Schofield: sarah.schofield@pepsico.com
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated approximately $63-billion in net revenue in 2016, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1-billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our fundamental belief that the success of our company is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world around us. We believe that continuously improving the products we sell, operating responsibly to protect our planet, and empowering people around the world is what enables PepsiCo to run a successful global company that creates long-term value for society and our shareholders. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.