This initiative in Kenya is improving inclusion and labour rights in the supply and distribution chains of two large beverage companies.
Global Labor Program – Inclusive Futures
About the programme
The Global Labor Program – Inclusive Futures is supporting people with disabilities, particularly women, to work in the supply and distribution chains of Diageo’s East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL) and Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), and to have confidence in exercising their labour rights. Over five years, it aims to benefit 1,350 women retailers and 1,450 farmers with disabilities.
Under the programme, smallholder sorghum wheat farmers are supported to organise collectively into hubs, giving them access to better quality agricultural advice and farm inputs, as well as collective bargaining power to secure higher prices for their produce.
The programme also provides training and support to women retailers with disabilities, enabling them to grow their retail businesses and organise into groups. This gives them a platform to discuss common issues affecting them and negotiate better margins from product sales.
By focusing on those who are most marginalised, it aims to create wider benefits for everyone working across the supply and distribution chains of both companies.
Update: The programme was funded by USAID until January 2025.
Consortium partners: BBC Media Action, Central Organization of Trade Unions Kenya, Equal Rights Trust, Innovations for Poverty Action, Kenya Female Advisory Organization, LINC, Sightsavers, TechnoServe, Ulula and United Disabled Persons of Kenya. The programme is also supported by the Syngenta Foundation.
At a glance
- Where: Kenya
- When: 2021 - 2026
- Donor: Funded by USAID until January 2025
- Lead partner: Sightsavers
Jane sits on the ground outside her home, sorting seeds from a pot.
Jane’s story
Jane owns a farm nestled in the rolling hills surrounding Lake Victoria. Being part of the Global Labor Program has helped her gain stability and greater financial independence. She is now part of East Africa Breweries Limited’s supply chain, and farms sorghum to be used in the company’s beer production.
Watch the video to hear her story
Research from the Global Labor Program
Note: the Global Labor Program was funded by USAID until January 2025.
Baseline survey report
The baseline survey results for the programme's impact evaluation.
Gender equality and social inclusion analysis
How issues around gender and disability limit the participation of women with disabilities in value chains in Kenya.
Social network analysis: Homabay
Report exploring how farmers relate with other actors in the sorghum value chain in Homabay, Kenya.
Value chain analyses
Analyses of CCBA and EABL's value chains in Kenya.
Legal Assessment
Review of the Kenyan Legislative and International Framework governing the Right to Equal Work and Employment.
Causal Loop Diagram from the Global Labor Program
Report into interactions and relationships within the value chains of two large beverage companies in Kenya.
Social network analysis: Migori
Report exploring how farmers relate with other actors in the sorghum value chain in Migori, Kenya.
Using radio to increase understanding of labour and disability rights
Report from BBC Media Action on the impact of their work with community radio stations in Kenya.
Stories from the programme
Empowering women through the Global Labor Program
On International Day of Rural Women, we share how the programme is empowering rural women in Kenya by ensuring they have the skills, knowledge and opportunities to thrive.
From Kenya to Berlin: conferences in Nairobi hailed as opportunity for disability rights progress
In the run-up to the Global Disability Summit (GDS) in April 2025, the African Disability Forum conference and African Regional Pre-Summit of the GDS are critical for advocating for change.
Labour Day 2023: promoting labour rights in Kenya
Every year on 1 May, the Central Organization of Trade Unions Kenya holds an event in Nairobi to raise awareness about labour issues and advocate for better laws to protect workers’ rights.
Using social network analysis to improve the working conditions of sorghum farmers in Kenya
As a partner in the Global Labor Program in Kenya, LINC is exploring how farmers relate with others in the sorghum value chain.
International Day of Rural Women 2022: how we’re helping to transform the lives of women farmers
To celebrate International Rural Women's Day on 15 October, we are highlighting the stories of some of the women farmers we work with in rural western Kenya.
Measuring the impact of our work with farmers in Kenya
A survey carried out at the start of the Global Labor Program will help us to measure whether our approach results in more men and women with disabilities being confident about exercising their labour rights.
Meet the people involved
Simon Brown: “Our primary focus is on protecting the rights of people with disability in employment”
Simon Brown was global technical lead for economic empowerment at Sightsavers until August 2024.
Essy Olang: “We need to ensure that the voices of women with and without disabilities are heard”
Project officer, Kenya Female Advisory Organization (KEFEADO)
Ellen Bates-Jefferys: “Women and people with disabilities are an integral part of the workforce, but they are usually undervalued”
Research manager, Innovations for Poverty Action
Lucy Odwar: “Women with disabilities face many challenges”
Director of social services in Homabay County government, Kenya
John Wambua: “I learnt from experience how society is skewed against people with disabilities”
Programme planning and communications, United Disabled Persons of Kenya (UDPK)
Easter Achieng: “I’ve been working on women’s rights issues for half my life”
Executive director and programmes coordinator, Kenya Female Advisory Organization (KEFEADO)
