We proudly announce that Olam Agri in Nigeria’s Seed for the Future initiative has been recognized as a Sustainability Initiative of the Year at the prestigious Africa Food Awards 2023, held on June 16 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Africa Food Awards is an annual event that recognizes and celebrates the best companies and individuals in Africa’s rising food manufacturing, retail, academia, and food service sector. The awards celebrate excellence and encourage adopting world-class practices and technologies in Africa’s food manufacturing, retail, and service sectors.
As one of the winners of the Sustainability Initiative of the Year Award, Olam Agri in Nigeria’s Seeds for the Future Initiative was launched as a wheat value-chain social sustainability investment vehicle in 2021.
The initiative is driven by five key levers:
- supporting farmers and farming communities,
- enabling broader education and skill development for young people,
- empowering women (farmers and bakers),
- promoting health and nutrition and
- reducing carbon emissions in business operations.
Francis Juma – Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FW Africa, the organizer of the awards, said, “After evaluation by our judging committee, Olam Agri’s sustainability investment through the Seeds for the Future Foundation met all criteria of reach, depth, and impact, and towers above the competition in the sustainability investment category and deserves to receive one of the Sustainability Initiative Award for the year 2023.”
He congratulated the business for its exceptional leadership and focused investment, which aim to drive impactful economic growth across operating markets.
Ashish Pande – Country Head of Olam Agri in Nigeria, expressed his gratitude for the recognition and congratulated the business for its exceptional leadership and focused investment, which aim to drive impactful economic growth across operating markets.
“We will keep scaling up investment in projects that positively impact farming communities, consumer health, the environment, and the government’s economic growth agenda. The Seed for the Future Foundation is a major vehicle for driving our wider investment actions. The Sustainability Initiative of the Year Award recognition underscores our impact level,” said Ashish.
Winners in the same category at the awards include:
- Ngorongo Tea – Electrical and thermal energy initiatives,
- Farmers Choice – Instalment of solar energy at the factory in Kenya,
- EABL – Biomass boilers project,
- The Marindi Healthy Woman – Agri-nutrition Community Initiative that enables women to tackle hypertension and diabetes in Homa Bay County, Kenya,
- Broadway Bakery – Be Sugar Smart Campaign,
- EABL – Water for Life Initiative,
- Bio Food Products- Feeding for Profit Program.
The Africa Food Awards took place during the Africa Food Industry Week, consisting of high-level events such as the Africa Sustainability Symposium, AMASS Food Expo and the Africa Food Safety Summit, held in Nairobi, Kenya.