DOVE® Chocolate And CARE® Partner To Build A New Marketplace For Women-Run Businesses In Cote d'Ivoire

Groundbreaking on International Women's Day Marks Next Phase of Partnership to Empower Women in Cocoa Growing Communities

News provided by

Mars, Incorporated

Mar 07, 2019, 08:00 ET

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J., March 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- DOVE^® Chocolate and CARE have announced the next phase of their partnership to empower women in the cocoa growing communities of Cote d'Ivoire.

GUEYO, COTE D’IVOIRE (March 7, 2019) – Two days prior to International Women’s Day, the first stone was laid on a new marketplace for women-led businesses in the village of Gueyo in Cote d’Ivoire. The new build signifies the DOVE® Chocolate partnership with CARE to empower women in cocoa farming communities. The ceremony was attended by more than 1,000 community members and women entrepreneurs, some of whom will have a new space within the market in which to sell their goods.

GUEYO, COTE D’IVOIRE (March 7, 2019) – Women entrepreneurs in Gueyo, Cote d’Ivoire celebrate International Women’s Day by laying the first stone on a new community marketplace sponsored by DOVE® Chocolate and CARE. Every year, the women of Cote d’Ivoire choose a fabric to wear throughout the month of March. This year’s pattern symbolizes a network of women interconnected through experience sharing, much like the women who will share their experiences as business owners in the new market.

GUEYO, COTE D’IVOIRE (March 7, 2019) – Hundreds of women entrepreneurs proudly march in Gueyo, Cote d’Ivoire to celebrate International Women’s Day and the laying of the first stone on a new community marketplace sponsored by DOVE® Chocolate and CARE. Ivorian women wear a special fabric throughout the month of March as International Women’s Day carries country-wide significance.

DOVE® Chocolate (PRNewsfoto/Mars, Incorporated)

Yesterday, just two days before International Women's Day, the first stone was laid on a new marketplace for women-led businesses in the village of Gueyo, a centrally-located commerce area nestled among the cocoa fields of Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa. The official ceremony was attended by 1,000 women and entrepreneurs, some of whom will have a new space within the market. Also in attendance were local dignitaries including Kone Messemba, the Prefet of Nawa Region and Abdoulaye Doumbia, Regional Director of the Ministry of Family, Women and Child Protection in addition to Jason Green, Mars West Africa Director and Inge Jacobs, Senior Manager, Human Rights and Income, Cocoa, Mars Wrigley Confectionery.

"It is a monumental day for all of us at DOVE® Chocolate as we break ground on a new marketplace in Gueyo," said Leslie Philipsen, Brand Director, DOVE® Chocolate. "This effort is a natural evolution of our partnership with CARE, and another step towards realizing our vision of financially independent and empowered women, which in turn benefits cocoa communities like Gueyo."

The new marketplace will open in July and provide space for women to sell their goods daily. The reinforced structure will provide protection from the elements, a major improvement from the outdoor stalls used before. Connected to the electricity grid, the marketplace will offer lighting for safety and added longevity should women choose to extend their work day. New meeting space will allow women to organize trainings, run operational meetings and be available for rent as another form of income. The marketplace infrastructure will also include new latrines and handwashing stations.

"There is a palpable excitement within the Gueyo community as we embark on this market build and opening," said Guillaume Aguettant, Country Director for CARE in Cote d'Ivoire. "As in the United States, International Women's Day is widely celebrated by both the women and men in Cote d'Ivoire. Today is all about the national pride we have for these women and the commitment they've made to themselves to gain financial independence."

The DOVE® Chocolate partnership with CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, has operated since 2015. Since that time, DOVE^® Chocolate has supported the development and evolution of small female-driven enterprises in cocoa farming communities using CARE Village Savings & Loan Associations (VSLA) methodology. Today, the VSLAs operate in 39 communities in Cote d'Ivoire with thousands of members, 80 percent of which are women. The VSLAs have become essential in helping women achieve financial independence by empowering them to build micro businesses. In turn, the cocoa growing communities have benefitted, as the resources generated are re-invested in these communities by the women themselves.

The continued partnership between DOVE^® Chocolate and CARE is part of the commitment by Mars, Incorporated, to improve the lives of cocoa farmers and to achieve our Sustainable in a Generation Plan ambitions. Having already pledged $1 million to CARE, Mars recognizes empowering communities and improving livelihoods in cocoa-producing regions is the most important step in how we make DOVE^® Chocolate, because the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today.

For the third consecutive year, consumers can join this effort. In the coming weeks, for every online purchase of qualifying DOVE^® Chocolate PROMISES^® 150-piece bags on Amazon, $5.00 will be donated to CARE. See the DOVE® Chocolate page on Amazon for more details.

About DOVE^® Chocolate
From bean to bar, Mars Wrigley Confectionery takes great care to maintain the highest standards of quality when crafting DOVE® Chocolate. It all starts with only the best cacao beans, which are tested by experts for quality and flavor. The beans are then taken through special roasting and grinding techniques – a process rooted in European tradition - to create the signature silky smooth texture and great taste of DOVE® Chocolate. Finally, the perfect combination of chocolate liquor and 100 percent pure cocoa butter are added to create a balanced taste that's not too sweet, nor too bitter. For more information about DOVE® Chocolate, visit www.dovechocolate.com, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Mars, Incorporated
Mars is a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With over $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world's best-loved brands: M&M's^®, SNICKERS^®, TWIX^®, MILKY WAY^®, DOVE^®, PEDIGREE^®, ROYAL CANIN^®, WHISKAS^®, EXTRA^®, ORBIT^®, 5™, SKITTLES^®, UNCLE BEN'S^®, and COCOAVIA^®. Mars also provides veterinary health services that include BANFIELD^® Pet Hospitals, Blue Pearl^®, VCA^® and Pet Partners™. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire its more than 115,000 Associates to create value for all its partners and deliver growth they are proud of every day.

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Follow #WomenofMars and celebrate International Women's Day and join us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube to learn more.

About CARE
Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. That's why women and girls are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to confront hunger, ensure nutrition and food security for all, improve education and health, create economic opportunity and respond to emergencies. Last year, CARE worked in 95 countries and reached more than 56 million people around the world.

SOURCE Mars, Incorporated