Seven ways Coca-Cola says it is making a difference in Nigeria

For 75 years, Coca-Cola has been part of everyday life in Nigeria. The company says the wider Coca-Cola System, including Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Bottling Company and The Coca-Cola Foundation, has built a role that extends beyond the bottle.

One focus is access to clean water. Through the Strengthening Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programme, the system repaired boreholes and installed handwashing stations in six communities in Maiduguri, Borno State. The locations included an internally displaced people’s camp, two health facilities and a school. The company says more than 16,000 people now have access to safer water.

The programme also relies on local participation. Women serve as volunteer hygiene promoters, while young people receive training as maintenance artisans. In Imo State, where 25 communities depend on the Otamiri River, the system helped restore more than 15,000 cubic metres of riverbank vegetation. Community committees received training in managing and maintaining water systems.

Plastic recycling forms another part of the company’s work. Through initiatives including the Empowering Collectors Initiative, the Plastics Recycling Programme, CyclePlast, Tidy Nigeria and Green Campus, Coca-Cola says it has helped remove large volumes of plastic waste while creating income for more than 13,000 Nigerians.

The company says collected plastic can become significantly more valuable after sorting and processing. Its programmes aim to strengthen the recycling chain by linking environmental cleanup with earnings for collectors and aggregators.