There’s a new organization that has really caught my attention lately: ColaLife. Simon Barry is the mind behind the project designed to leverage the preexisting distribution networks of Coca-Cola (previously mentioned here) to deliver what he’s calling “aidpods” – essentially packages filled with medicines ranging from anti-malarial to anti-diarrhetic medicines that seamlessly fit into the crates of Coca-Cola being distributed throughout Africa. ColaLife recently secured an arrangement with Coca-Cola to run a pilot-program (likely in Tanzania) in the coming months.

From the ColaLife Blog:

Coca-Cola’s response to the Business Call To Action has always been tightly [sic] focused [sic] on growing Coca-Cola’s core business in Africa but doing this is a way that maximizes [sic] impact in terms of the alleviation of poverty (see a fuller explanation here). However, last night, Euan made a specific reference to ColaLife and stated that they wanted to go beyond their original intention and look at the opportunities for social marketing and the distribution of  ’social products’. This is a big step for Coca-Cola and the campaign and in the right direction.

I’ve already mentioned the power of Coca-Cola’s distribution networks in terms of developing a complementary industry to their primary operations. It’s very interesting to think about how, now, social entrepreneurs can build off of these preexisting distribution networks to get much needed supplies and aid to communities previously not easily accessible.

For more information on ColaLife:

• Visit their website: http://www.colalife.org
• Join their Facebook Group

And here is a quick YouTube video: