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For the 6th Consecutive Year, PepsiCo Empowers Lebanese Youth through its Tomooh Education Program in Collaboration with Ajialouna

PepsiCo and Ajialouna encourage all students with special needs to apply for

2011-2012 Tomooh Scholarships
Beirut, 21 March 2011 - PepsiCo , one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, and Ajialouna, Lebanon's premiere non-profit organisation dedicated to educational, health and social welfare, today announced their renewed commitment to empower Lebanese Youth through Education.

PepsiCo affirmed its commitment to continue operating its flagship social responsibility program in the Middle East, "Tomooh" for the 6th Consecutive year in Lebanon. The program celebrates providing annual scholarships to Lebanese University students. This year, PepsiCo is dedicating 10% of its Tomooh fund in Lebanon to students with special needs so they can also be empowered to start or continue their education, and to ease their integration into society.

" PepsiCo is pleased at the success of the Tomooh programme in Lebanon, which is why we have renewed our commitment to support Lebanese youth for the sixth consecutive year. As part of our Performance with Purpose vision, developing potential talent through education is essential to the social and economic progress of Lebanon and the region," said Saad Abdul-Latif, Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo Asia, Middle East & Africa (AMEA) and program founder.

"It is through Tomooh, and through our partnerships with organizations like Ajialouna, that PepsiCo is able to give back to the communities. In order to ensure we reach the students who need it most, Tomooh started last year to provide a number of allocated grants for students with special needs - widening the network of students who will benefit from the program," added Marwan Istaitie, General Manager, PepsiCo East Mediterranean and Africa Business Unit.

Since its launch, Tomooh has helped many students who have graduated and assumed executive roles. One student, Qassim Naem Daghman, graduated from Beirut Arab University to take a position as a Program Manager at NBN TV. He was one of the 987 students to benefit from the Tomooh programme since it launched in 2006.

"I always dreamt of studying Media at Beirut Arab University to fulfill my dream of becoming a media representative. I knew my parents were not in a financial situation to help me achieve that dream, so when I heard about Tomooh, I immediately applied. I was overjoyed when Tomooh helped to subsidize my fees and my dream was finally becoming a reality," said Qassim Naem Daghman.

PepsiCo and Ajialouna, over the past six years, have helped close to 1000 students studying different majors in public universities across Lebanon. More than 300 students are expected to benefit from the program in the upcoming academic year.

The 'Tomooh' Scholarship Program supports outstanding students who face social and economic challenges that may prevent them from completing their university education. The program is open to applicants, from across the country, that are selected for the scholarships based on an evaluation conducted by one of Ajialouna's community development centers.

"We are extremely happy to join hands with PepsiCo once again this year. Tomooh exemplifies the strength of our partnership and the shared goals that we have. We want to encourage and empower Lebanese youth to prosper, regardless of physical ability, and to ensure that nothing should hinder their progress in fulfilling their ambitions. Ajialouna strives to provide opportunities to Lebanese youth who are unable to continue their education and PepsiCo 's Tomooh Scholarship program addresses exactly that. Our aim remains to drive students closer to their goals." said Dr. Lina Al Zaeem Al Dada, Chairperson of Ajialouna.

The 'Tomooh' program has grown from PepsiCo 's 2003 pledge to empower youth in the Arab world through education. PepsiCo 's original commitment to set aside one million dollars to aid disadvantaged communities based on individual needs has been doubled since the program's inception. Introduced in Lebanon in 2006 as an annual scholarship program, Tomooh was then rolled out to Jordan and Egypt, with the program now in its sixth year in Lebanon, fifth year in Jordan and fourth year in Egypt. Since its launch, 'Tomooh' has collectively enabled 13,000 beneficiary including over 4,000 Arab students across Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt to overcome financial difficulties and continue their education.

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About PepsiCo
PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales each. Our main businesses -- Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay, and Pepsi Cola -- also make hundreds of other enjoyable and wholesome foods and beverages that are respected household names throughout the world. With net revenues of approximately $60 billion, PepsiCo 's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo . We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo 's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment, including by conserving energy and water usage, and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support, and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

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For more information, please contact:
Taghreed Oraibi
Mobile: 0097150 7943528
Email: Taghreed.oraibi@ketchum-raad.com

© Press Release 2011