By Leni Kinzli and Sophia Dastoli
Each year, Concordia, the U.S. Department of State Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships (S/GP), and the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Institute for Business in Society (IBiS) presents the P3 Impact Award to an effective public-private partnership (P3) that has led to positive social impact.
In addition to raising awareness about cross-sector collaboration, the P3 Impact Award helps identify leading practices, deliver practical learning, and generate a database of information relevant to public-private partnerships.
This year, Project Nurture, a partnership between the global nonprofit TechnoServe, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and The Coca-Cola Company won the 2016 P3 Impact Award at the Concordia Awards on September 20th.
In a Twitter Chat co-hosted by @ConcordiaSummit, @IBiS_Darden, and @GPatState, Project Nurture tuned in to Tweet about their partnership, its impact, and the benefits of cross-sector collaboration.
The partner organizations that make up Project Nurture – @TechnoServe, @CocaColaCo, and @gatespoverty – began by introducing the partnership and the focus of its work.
@TechnoServe also highlighted how farmers across Africa are benefiting from Project Nurture.
While farmers across Africa struggle to lift themselves out of poverty, food and beverage companies have a hard time sourcing the agricultural products they need. Seeking to address both of these problems, @CocaColaCo relayed what is at the heart of Project Nurture: helping raise the incomes of small farmers across Africa while sourcing their products sustainably.
The Coca-Cola Company is now able to produce a locally sourced fruit juice in East Africa for the first time, while farmers have felt a positive economic and social impact from increased income.
By collaborating across sectors, Project Nurture was able to apply a shared value approach that benefited both a company’s bottom line and significantly improved the lives of local farmers – a perfect example of an effective public-private partnership.
To learn more about Project Nurture, read the full #P3Impact Twitter Chat here:
