Olam Food Ingredients Ghana Limited (ofi), a Licensed Buying Company (LBC) in Ghana’s cocoa sector and one of the lead exporters of cashew in the industry, has commemorated this year’s UN International Day of Women & Girls in Science with students & farmers in its supply chain at Tepa in the Ashanti Region.
This year, a ceremony was held at Tepa Senior High School under the theme: Bringing Everyone Forward for Sustainable and Equitable Development, to recognize the role of women and girls in science, not only as beneficiaries but also as agents of change.
The event brought together about 500 participants, including farmers in ofi’s supplier network in Tepa, children of farmers pursuing courses and careers in science, science students from both Tepa and Maban Senior High Schools, selected managers within the business as well as ofi’s female network group, GROW (Globally Reaching Olam Women).
The Country Head of ofi, Mr. Eric Asare Botwe, said ‘currently the female scientist population in ofi has grown tremendously. We have 14 female scientists working in our factory and over 40 female employees with science backgrounds in the sustainability business. I am optimistic that the numbers will increase not only in ofi but in all businesses spread across the country. He continued, “ofi encourages women scientists in our business to reach their full potential and find mentorship and growth opportunities both within and outside the company. Olam Cocoa Processing (OCP) has partnered with Kumasi Technical University and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to allow their students have internship programmes with us to provide the needed practice and training to the theories they learn at school.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Mrs. Augustina Sylverken, senior Lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, said, ‘There is a need to harness all talent to tackle the challenges facing the country and the global community. The full participation of women and girls in science, mathematics, and technology is essential; hence women and girls need to break all barriers to be part of the change agents in society’.
Other speakers at the event included Nana Amoateng Tuffour, Tepa Ankobeahene who represented the Tepa Manhene, Nana Adjeiwaa Paamu, Tepa Manhemaaa, and Celestina Amoa- Menyah, ofi’s Regional Quality Head for Africa, who called for a more practical approach for the teaching and learning of science.
The resource persons shared their experiences and encouraged participants to connect mentors to their children and for the students to find mentors in their areas of specialisation to help them in their chosen science fields.
ofi gave all 200 participating students branded t-shirts, notepads, pens, and sanitary pads.
About ofi
ofi (olam food ingredients) is a new operating group born out of Olam International. ofi offers sustainable, natural, value-added food products and ingredients so that consumers can enjoy the healthy and indulgent products they love. It consists of industry-leading businesses of cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts, and spices. ofi has built a unique global value chain presence including its own farming operations, farm-gate origination, and manufacturing facilities. ofi partners with customers, leveraging its complementary and differentiated portfolio of ‘on-trend’ food products, to co-create solutions that anticipate and meet changing consumer preferences as demand increases for healthier food that’s traceable and sustainable.
About Olam
Olam is a leading food and agri-business supplying food, ingredients, feed and fiber to 17,300 customers worldwide. Its value chain spans over 60 countries and includes farming, processing and distribution operations, as well as a sourcing network of an estimated 5 million farmers. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, Olam currently ranks among the top 30 largest primary listed companies in terms of market capitalization on SGX-ST. Since June 2020, Olam has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series, a global sustainable investment index series developed by FTSE Russell, following a rigorous assessment of Olam’s supply chain activities, impact on the environment and governance transparency. The FTSE4Good Index Series identifies companies that demonstrate strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices and is used by a variety of market participants to create and assess responsible investment funds.