For more than six years now, Coca-Cola has made use of Manual Distribution Centers (MDCs) in various regions of Africa. The goal of this program is to recruit entrepreneurs who act as independent agents to distribute and then sell the company’s various beverages in the small, remote areas where they live.

The idea for Manual Distribution Centers evolved from Coca-Cola’s desire to provide business support in countries that are still developing, such as those in Africa. Within the first five years of the program, more than 2,000 MDCs had been created and were owned independently by entrepreneurs in Tanzania and Ethiopia. The combined efforts of these industrious entrepreneurs have consistently produced more than $500 million each year. In addition, approximately 12,000 jobs have developed as a direct result of the MDCs in Ethiopia and Tanzania.

Coca-Cola’s aim with this business model has been to reach interested entrepreneurs in remote areas where there is a marked lack of safe roadways. Regions that currently cannot provide an infrastructure that is conducive to safe travel make it impossible for standard delivery trucks to be able to reach them, thus eliminating a large market of potential customers. With Coca-Cola’s innovation and financial support, the creation of Manual Distribution Centers has enabled independent business people to distribute the beverages themselves to retailers in their general area.

Essentially, this means that the company is supporting third parties for distribution purposes, effectively making it much more realistic for them to provide their products to people who otherwise would not have access to them on a daily basis. Coca-Cola has launched successful MDC programs in a number of African countries. The largest of these programs were launched in Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The belief is that it will continue to grow, providing jobs, useful products, and money to regions that desperately need it.

One very impressive result of the company’s entrepreneurial program has been the development of positive business options for women. In Ethiopia, about 19 percent of the company’s entrepreneurs are women. In Tanzania, more than 32 percent of the entrepreneurs are women. In areas where women do not usually have very many business options, these numbers are quite significant.

Some international business experts have recommended that other companies follow suit by creating their own type of business model in countries that are still developing. For most businesses, this would likely include figuring out a viable method for distributing their products in remote regions, and getting the word out to potential entrepreneurs in those areas. The Coca-Cola Company has certainly shown us that when businesses have a willingness to make an investment in socioeconomic improvements of other countries, good things can result for all parties.

To date, the Coca-Cola Company has enjoyed great success with this business venture, and by all accounts they hope to continue to expand their entrepreneurial business model to additional regions of Africa over the next few years.