One of the most valuable ways a large company can service the community is through sharing business expertise with organisations whose improved efficiency will serve a good cause.

The Project Last Mile initiative uses Coca Cola Company’s business know-how to help governments in Tanzania and Ghana improve access to medical resources in remote communities. Coca Cola and its foundations are now looking to expand the programme into 10 African countries over the next five years.

Coca Cola’s partners on the project are the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The expansion will mean an extra investment of more than $21m as well as the official addition of USAID.

Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, says, “We know our business can only be as strong as the communities we serve... Project Last Mile has been a great and growing success so far, and we look forward to working with our partners to improve lives across more communities and more countries.”

The director general of the Medical Stores Department in Tanzania reports a 20-30% increase in the availability of medicines in some of its medical clinics. The techniques used include a direct distribution model and shared distribution tools.