AFMASS CONFERENCE & EXPO 2017
KENYA– It was pomp and colour at the inaugural Food Business Africa Industry Excellence Awards ceremony on the evening of April 26, 2017 in Nairobi, Kenya as a number of winners of the Industry Champion Awards received their awards.
With each of the Industry Champion Awards winners receiving a specially made, branded lion-headed trophy inscribed with their respective names, the industry leaders appreciated the efforts by the organisers to come up with the awards idea.
In their speeches, the winners extolled the value of hard work, emphasizing that their success was due to a lot of sacrifice by themselves, families and employees.
The winners were handed their awards at a glittering dinner and awards ceremony at Southern Sun Mayfair Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.
The celebration-themed Awards ceremony took place together with the Official Dinner at the AFMASS Conference & Expo, which was sponsored by Nestlé.
AFMASS Conference & Expo, which is the region’s leading food & beverages, milling & feed and hospitality & foodservice conference and expo, took place at Visa Oshwal Centre in Nairobi on April 25-27, 2017.
The winners who got time to grace the event included BD Shah, the Founder of Bidco Africa; Nick Hutchinson, CEO of Unga Group; Hirtesh Shah, the CEO of Sigma Feeds; Bimal Shah, the CEO of Broadways Group; Binoy Zachariah, the founder of Bio Foods; and Dr. Florence Wambugu – CEO, Africa Harvest.
Other awards winners who could not make it to the awards ceremony but sent representatives or apologies included Lau Larsen, the CEO of Promaco; Bharat Shah – Vice Chairman, Kenafric Industries; Kimani Rugendo, the CEO of Kevian Kenya; Bharat Patel – CEO, Vegpro; and Anne Mbaabu – Director, Market Access Program, AGRA.
Others were Muhoho Kenyatta, Executive Chairman at Brookside; Prof. Ruth Oniang’o, a career nutritionist and Director at Nestle SA in Switzerland; Abdul Farah of Chemicals & Solvents; Tabitha Karanja, the CEO of Keroche Breweries; and Chris Kirubi, the Chairman at Centum Investments.
The winners of the Industry Champion Awards category are made up of some of Kenya and the region’s key industry, research and development organisation leaders.
The award celebrates men and women from the depth and breath of the food & beverage and milling and feed industry who have made notable contribution to the growth of the industry over the years.
“This awards ceremony and putting the ‘icing onto the cake’ of these highly accomplished individuals has been a goal for me and the small team at FoodWorld Media ever since we started publishing Food Business Africa magazine in February 2013,” said Francis Juma, the founder at FoodWorld Media, and the organisers of the Food Business Africa Industry Excellence Awards.
“This awards ceremony is FoodWorld Media’s plan to bring the industry together every year to celebrate its achievements, network and critically, for each participating company to measure itself with the rest of their sector and the entire industry,” he added.
Buhler’s African Milling School scooped the only other category of the awards ceremony this year, winning the Project of the Year award.
The African Milling School, which trains millers and other industry professionals and managers, has been a major investment by Buhler in the region.
The award celebrates the milling school’s influence and impact on the future of the milling industry in Africa.
Martin Schlauri, the Managing Director of the school, was at hand to receive the award on behalf of the Milling School.
ABOUT FOOD BUSINESS AFRICA INDUSTRY BUSINESS AWARDS
The Food Business Africa Industry Excellence Awards are organized by FoodWorld Media – the region’s publishing, events management and consultancy company.
The Awards have a goal of inculcating excellence in the food & beverage and milling and baking industry in Africa through an annual competitive awards program.
The 2018 edition, which will be launched in September 2017, will be a bigger, more diversified awards ceremony, with about 20 categories up for nominations by the industry from Eastern Africa.
The 2018 edition is planned for May 30, 2017 during the AFMASS Conference & Expo, which is planned for May 29-31, 2018.
More information about the awards is available at www.awards.foodbusinessafrica.com
