Global Labor Program – Inclusive Futures

This initiative in Kenya is improving inclusion and labour rights in the supply and distribution chains of two large beverage companies.

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.

A woman holding crutches inspects sorghum crops growing in the field behind her.

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 sits on the ground outside her home, sorting seeds from a pot.

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