An $11.5m partnership between Coca-Cola, The Gates Foundation and Technoserve will create new market opportunities for local mango and passion fruit farmers in East Africa whose fruit will be used for the soft drink giant’s locally-produced and sold fruit juices.

The project aims to bring 50,000 local farmers in Kenya and Uganda in to Coca-Cola’s supply chain and to double their incomes by 2014. If successful, it will improve the quality of the fruit, increase production and provide the farmers with credit.

The partnership itself comprises a $7.5m grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to TechnoServe, a non-profit organisation focused on building businesses to empower people in the developing world, $3m provided by Coca-Cola itself and $1m by bottling partner Coca-Cola Sabco.

The advantage of this kind of initiative, beyond the clear potential benefits to the local communities, is the model laid down for Coca-Cola as it develops. From its point of view, this investment is a valuable part of a strategy to meet growing demand in new markets. Which could be a good thing for the people markets too.

Nathan Kalumbu, Coca-Cola’s East and Central Africa business unit president said: “This partnership is a great example of sustainability. By partnering with tens of thousands of local farmers, we can help increase their incomes while meeting our needs for locally sourced fruit, benefiting both the community and our business.”

The Gates Foundation on the other hand has long been celebrated for its exceptional altruistic activities  and has provided more than $1.4bn to improve agricultural supply chains in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Last year, the organisation worked with Kraft on extending its commitment to sustainable cocoa farming.

Still, difficulties with developing African farmland to the benefit of the locals and the companies involved are common and these schemes require a mix of private sector initiative and working closely with governmental development schemes.

This kind of partnership has the potential to be beneficial for all involved and a good example of sustainable practices. Ultimately though, it will be judged on it’s implementation, rather than the records of any of the partners involved.