* THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO COLLECT DISUSED DEVICES, REPAIR THEM AND DISTRIBUTE THEM TO CENTRES WITH TECHNOLOGY NEEDS IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS GHANA, LIBERIA, SIERRA LEONE AND GUINEA.

    * THANKS TO THEIR CAPILLARITY IN THE AFRICAN CONTINENT, ECCBC WILL BECOME A HUB THROUGH WHICH OTHER PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS CAN DONATE ELECTRONIC DEVICES TO BE SENT OVER DURING THE BOTTLING COMPANY’S USUAL JOURNEYS.

The collaborative social network LABDOO and Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company (ECCBC), a leading bottling company in Africa present in 13 countries in the north and west of the continent, will jointly transport electronic devices to schools in need on the African continent. The initiative will be developed within the framework of a collaboration agreement between the social entity and the bottling company, and the objective is to collect disused devices, repair them and distribute them to centres with technology needs in countries such as Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Open to all those who want to contribute towards improving the educational situation in African schools, the initiative seeks to take advantage of the frequent journeys that ECCBC carries out to Africa as a result of the capillarity of their business, resulting in no added costs in terms of CO2 emissions during the transportation of the devices. This CO2-neutral transport will be coordinated using a technology called Dootrip, part of the Labdoo collaborative platform. In this way, ECCBC will become a central hub through which other people and organisations can donate electronic devices to be sent as part of the bottling company’s usual journeys, therefore optimising their trips.

A HUMANITARIAN SOCIAL NETWORK

Born in 2010, LABDOO is a humanitarian social network joined by people around the world who want to make the world a better place by providing those in underdeveloped regions the chance to access a better education. For this purpose, the platform coordinates the sending of laptop computers, e-book readers, tablets and any other device that can be loaded with educational software to needy schools around the world, using collaborative efforts and without incurring any financial or environmental costs.

The entity calculates that hundreds of millions of electronic devices (that they call dootronics) are thrown out around the world each year, even though they are in perfect condition and, with a simple clean and the installation of an education software, can become a powerful tool to unlocking access to education around the world. Since its creation, Labdoo has delivered more than 14,000 dootronics to over 1,500 schools across 130 countries.

“This collaboration with Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company will do more than just increase the capacity of the Labdoo platform to reach more African schools in a sustainable way. It will also be an example that will act as a catalyst and a call to the community. This way, other businesses and organisations will join us in delivering education to all corners of the planet,” explains Jordi Ros-Giralt, President and Founder of Labdoo, a platform that operates thanks to the collaboration of thousands of volunteers around the world who participate from any place at any time in order to create a future where all children will have free access to education.

A STRONG COMMITMENT TO EMPOWER YOUTH
Through this initiative, Equatorial Coca-Cola wants to demonstrate once again their commitment to the communities they serve; communities in which it continuously and collaboratively promotes a series of initiatives that strive to improve people’s quality of life.  “Our aim is to continue contributing to empower youth and provide access to opportunities for the people in most need in the nearby communities. Thus, promoting well-being and social equality through a project that totally matches our DNA and way of understanding business,” stated Juan de Rueda, Director of Corporate Affairs at Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

As a result of the collaboration, a total of 37 laptop have been delivered so far to places with technology needs in countries such as Ghana and Guinea. The last of the expeditions took place in Sierra Leone, a destination to which they managed to transport a total of 17 electronic devices, delivered to a School of Freetown called EB Williams Municipal School.