Coca Cola, Lafarge Nominated For SERAS Africa CSR Gender Awards

Recognized as Africa’s foremost CSR Watchdog and Sustainability monitoring organization, the 2017 SERAs nominees have been announced. They were selected for their various initiative’s and sustainable partnerships created to foster community development, while measuring the impact on specific segments, including Gender, Economic Empowerment, and Education.


This year’s nominees feature an impressive array Global brands, Organic African organizations, West African, and Nigeria institutions. They include First Bank, Nigerian Breweries, GT Bank, Chevron, Zenith Bank, Airtel, FCMB, Multichoice, iSON, Fidelity Bank, 9 Mobile, Sahara Energy, The Guardian, iSON, Shell Petroleum and Sterling Bank.

A most incredible recognition and nominee for 2017 is the [Dream Up, Speak Up, Stand Up] DUSUSU Foundation, formed by Zuriel Oduwole, at the age of 13. It is nominated in 2 categories, including the highly competitive Gender Equality category, where her Foundation is pitted alongside one of the world’s most recognizable brands – Coca Cola, and two other major companies - Lafarge Cement and Access Bank.

Utilizing childlike, non-traditional, non-complex but project specific approach, she compensated her weakness as a brand new Foundation by leveraging on the strong ‘asset related’ partnerships of others to accomplish her dual goal of 1) Inspiring More Girls to Stay in School, and 2) Teaching Unemployed Young Women new vocational skills to build their future on – in this case, 'film making'.

Receiving just over US$10,200.oo in Grants and Funding from Dangote Foundation, Kay Ovia Foundation & Iara Oshiomhole Foundation in her first 16 months, some of which she allocated to needing organizations, including an AIDs Orphanage [Malawi] and an exceptional student from her film class [see attached], she and her team physically visited and developed measurable programs across several African countries. These include Kenya [Mathare Slums], Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa [Diepslot - Soweto], and in Nigeria [Makoko - Lagos & Abuja] – through partnerships with Hilton Abuja, Air Namibia, HERTZ, Slum2School, Kenya Airways, Elizabeth R and Foundation Incorporation support by Aluko Oyebode & Co.

These were all accomplished, in between her own school work [home schooling], producing her new film - "Follow The ball For Education", speaking at the UN, addressing global leadership conferences, meeting world leaders, and playing a major role in an under 16 Girls soccer league in the US.

We all are imagining perhaps the same question you are - what if she had more resources at her disposal. The AWARDS would be presented on November 17th, at the Muson Center - Lagos Nigeria.