The PepsiCo Foundation – the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo, one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies – and INJAZ Al-Arab have partnered to launch a new entrepreneurship development program to support and inspire generations of women in the Kingdom.
The program is part of PepsiCo’s expansive women’s empowerment platform, Tamakani that was launched in June 2019 and it will provide professional training, mentorship, soft and technical skills education to 500 Female Saudi university students through June 2020. PepsiCo’s aims to provide support for young entrepreneurs to transform their business ideas in the food and beverage industry into successful regional business ventures. Students will be eligible to participate in an Innovation Camp and Company Program.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Mr. Tamer Mosalam, PepsiCo’s Gulf & Levant Foods Vice President and Business Unit General Manager, said: “We are extremely proud to partner with INJAZ Al-Arab to launch this new entrepreneurship development program in Saudi Arabia which is the next phase of our Tamakani platform. Empowering women in Saudi Arabia and around the world is a priority for The PepsiCo Foundation. It is a source of great pride that we are helping to develop the ideas of the Kingdom’s future entrepreneurs.”
Globally, The PepsiCo Foundation works with leading non-profit organizations like INJAZ Al Arab to empower women around the world, understanding that when a woman has the time and opportunities to learn, her children are better fed, healthier, and more likely to be educated themselves. PepsiCo plans to invest USD $100 million in initiatives that will benefit 12.5 million women and girls by 2025. In doing so, PepsiCo believes it can help spark a virtuous cycle that is essential to building a more sustainable food system.
The PepsiCo Foundation in coordination with INJAZ Al-Arab will commence volunteer recruitment and training, after which the initiative will be announced at universities in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam, calling on ambitious female students with entrepreneurial aspirations to apply.
