Nestlé Central & West Africa Region has been given a Platinum award in recognition of its pre-eminent contribution to the development of Ghana and Africa.
The prize was conferred on the company at the 8th Ghana-Africa Business Awards ceremony held at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel in Accra on Friday, May 31, 2013.
The award, which was presented by the Deputy Ghanaian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ambassador Kwesi Quartey, was received by the Regional Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Bineta Mbacké, on behalf of the company.
Organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, it celebrates business entities that have contributed to accelerating Ghana’s economic development through increased intra-African trade and investment.
Aside the Platinum award, which was reserved for select star performing businesses such as Nestlé CWAR, scores others were honoured in the silver and gold categories for making forays in manufacturing, tourism development and retailing sectors.CWAR’s prize is a celebration of its development approach to doing business in the 22 countries in which it operates in Central and West Africa in the framework of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the African Union’s flagship economic development agenda that aims at providing an overarching vision and policy outline for accelerating economic co-operation and integration among African countries.
Chairman of Ghana’s Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Emmanuel Kwasi Bandua, presided over the ceremony attended by diplomats led by the Sini Pierre Sanou, Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps in Ghana, captains of industry and traditional rulers.
Reflecting on the award, Bineta stated:
“Over the past five years, Nestlé has invested more than 400 million USD in Central and West Africa, which includes a new MAGGI Factory in Nigeria and an Infant Cereal Plant in Ghana. Our workforce in Ghana represents around 20% of our human resources in the Region. Ninety percent (90%) of our sales in Ghana are made from locally manufactured products, a development which is very important for us to increase local sourcing. We are determined to continue with this exciting journey.”