By Demi Aderibigbe
Sunrise News, Lagos, June 9, 2024 – Olam Agri in Nigeria, a leading agribusiness in food, feed and fibre, has set the pace in promoting the African continent’s rich cultural diversity. The business marked Africa Day 2024 with vibrant festivities on Friday, May 2024 across its locations headquarters, in the country.
Africa Day is celebrated on May 25th annually. It is dedicated to celebrating the continent’s vast cultural heritage. It also focuses on highlighting the continent’s economic potential while stimulating assertive actions towards achieving wider prosperity and unity across countries. This year’s theme which emphasised education as a critical lever for spurring growth on the continent was complemented by Olam Agri’s unique driving focus, “Embrace Africa’s Richness, Diversity, and Spirit”.
Led by its Country Head, Anil Nair, the agribusiness hosted its staff members to a celebration that showcased its African origin, diverse workforce, hospitality and commitment to promoting the unique cultural heritage of its host markets. The celebration featured dance troupes performing to the rhythm of African drums, cultural dances, convivial exchanges and local games. Employees clad in different local attires from the famous Babban Riga and Juanni to the hand-woven Aso-Oke and Agbada, Isiagu, Akwette and various other traditional styles extending to the wider African culture. The staff members participated in sessions targeted at fostering team bonding, received exciting gifts, danced to popular local songs and were treated to tasty local cuisine.
Anil said, “As a business that was founded in Nigeria over 30 years ago, we are proud of our African origin. This continent is fertile. Our driving focus continues to include promoting the rich cultural heritage on the continent, creating an inclusive workforce and channelling investment towards actualizing the economic potential across the market through massive employment generation and development of the agricultural value chain.”
“We are proud of the cultural diversity on the continent and the unique giftedness of the population who represent a dynamic force on the global scene. We believe this continent offers greater hope. Hence, we will continue to collaborate with stakeholders across the continent to feed the visions of achieving a well-nourished and prosperous Africa.”
Olam Agri’s African operations are spread across Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, Senegal and South Africa. Earlier in the year, the Top Employers Institute a global authority on recognising excellence in People Practices certified Olam Agri as a Top Employer for a 4th consecutive year in eight countries, including Australia, Cameroon, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, and South Africa.