Social Impactor
2022 AWARD FINALIST
Sponsored by MAS
Karma Drinks is a small company with a big mission. It aims to connect consumers with farmers and growers in a way that respects everyone and everything involved.
The Karma Foundation was founded to create the world’s most ethical soft drink. 1% of revenue from each of the organic, Fairtrade fizzies goes back to the Foundation, which, in turn, supports the Sierra Leone communities that grow the ingredients.
Funding allocation is managed by the communities themselves. It goes towards life-changing projects spanning governance and accountability, health and wellbeing, sustainability, infrastructure, local enterprise, and sustainable livelihoods and education.
Since 2012, more than 43 million Karma Drinks have been sold. This has enabled three bridges to be built, 135 girls sent to school, and eight teachers funded, enabling education for a further 614 children in three newly built classrooms.
Karma Drinks has supported farmers to revive forest farms and provided seed funding for 33 local entrepreneurs. These repaid loans have been distributed to 26 new entrepreneurs. Three villages have set up rice and groundnut seed banks, three more have rice mills, one has a guesthouse and four have new community meeting spaces.