Bavaria & Cía S.C.A

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BAVARIA & CÍA S.C.A

Improving living conditions and increasing incomes of low-income women retailers in Colombia.

 

BCTA MEMBERSHIP STATUS
Active

SECTOR
Consumer Goods

HEADQUARTERS
Colombia

REGION OF INITIATIVE
Latin America & Caribbean

SDG CONTRIBUTION

Featured
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THE IMPACT GOAL

Colombian beverage company, Bavaria, joined Business Call to Action in December 2020 with a commitment to increase the incomes and improve the living conditions for 35,000 small retailer women in Colombia by 2023, by strengthening their businesses and improving their capacities.

The Market Gap

In Colombia, women face enormous economic gaps; the global female labor participation rate has maintained an average gap of 20pp below male counterparts throughout the years. Additionally, based on results of the national survey of small businesses, women receive about 20% less monthly income than men. There are approximately 300,000 retail stores in Colombia and 56% of them are administered by women. This accounts for 21% of the country's enterprises. For Bavaria, the Traditional Channel represents approximately 80% of its beer sales while on the other hand, beer sales represent 40% of shopkeeper´s profits on average. Therefore collaboration is a mutually beneficial relationship between small retailers and Bavaria.

The Business Solution

Bavaria’s inclusive business initiative, Emprendedoras Bavaria, is guided by its parent company AB InBev's "For a Better World" strategy— a new approach to sustainable development that seeks to create a better country by aligning environmental and social responsibility with responsible consumption of alcohol. The Emprendedoras Bavaria initiative is Bavaria´s commitment to the traditional channel and gender equality in Colombia. The strategy strives to increase women's sales, promote control over their assets, and encourage their abilities for decision-making.

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The program operates under a 5-pillar strategic model:

  • Business strengthening: Personalized business training focusing on the individual business plans for each of the beneficiaries. This program has two populations. 1. Women that have their business running and 2. Building new stores for women with high entrepreneurial potential. Bavaria’s women shopkeepers are natural leaders in their communities and the program trains them to promote responsible drinking behaviors among clients and consumers. Learn more about Bavaria’s efforts on responsible drinking here (link).

  • Digital appropriation: New digital alternatives to increase their sales and reach customers through digital platforms and other tools.

  • Infrastructure: Elements to improve their businesses such as bikes for deliveries, refrigerators to keep their products cold, and other elements to help their businesses grow.

  • Financial inclusion: Strategic alliances to offer the best pension and microcredit options.

  • Impact measurement: The program uses research implementation methodologies as a continuous improvement practice to timely enhance the intervention and measure its results and impacts. Learn more about it here.

Active, SDG 1, SDG 5, SDG 8Studio EliasLatin America & Caribbean, Consumer Goods, Colombia