South African Bottling Company Reaffirms Commitment to Transformation through Employee Share Trust

Thousands of employees at Coca‑Cola’s South African bottling company, Coca‑Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA), will now be able to participate directly in the business through the landmark Ikageng Employee Share Trust.

The Trust was launched in May 2020 and will benefit nearly 8 000 South African-based employees currently employed at CCBSA, Coca‑Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) and Appletiser. Every employee will receive an equal allocation of shares through the established Ikageng Trust, regardless of staff level, race, or years of service.

Ikageng means ‘let us build ourselves’, a seTswana name chosen by one of the employees. It is a name that was generated internally through a staff campaign, which reaffirms that employees own more than just a share, but the spirit and identity of the company they work for.“We remain committed to the ideal of transformation and B-BBEE, and this investment is driven by the recognition that employees are our biggest asset, as they enable innovation, growth, and the sustainable development of our company,” said Velaphi Ratshefola, Managing Director of CCBSA.

Due to its innovative funding mechanism, Ikageng beneficiaries receive dividends from day one. Employees will never be required to outlay any cash of their own at any time. In this way, CCBSA can provide its employees access to equity participation that encourages a mutual objective of ensuring the long-term success for both the company and its employees.

The drafting of the Trust documents, which govern the activities of the Trust, was a consultative process, involving unions, the company and regulators and the Trust was formed with robust mechanisms to ensure that beneficiary interests are put above all other considerations. “Our transformation strategy includes bold initiatives in supplier inclusion and transformation and increasing our black ownership level,” Ratshefola added. “It is in this spirit that we have established the Ikageng Employee Share Trust to extend the ownership opportunity to our employees.”