CAMEROON – Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) Cameroon, a prominent agribusiness company, has been honored with the esteemed “Top Employer 2024” certification by the Top Employers Institute, a global authority on recognizing excellence in people practices.
This recognition underscores OFI Cameroon’s commitment to HR practices excellence in talent acquisition and development, employee well-being, diversity, and inclusion.
The rigorous certification process involved a comprehensive evaluation across six main categories: Steer (Strategy, leadership), Shape (Organization change, work environment), Attract (Employer branding, talent acquisition, onboarding), Develop (Performance, career, learning), Engage (Wellbeing, rewards, and recognition, offboarding), and Unite (Purpose and values, diversity, equity and inclusion, sustainability).
Country Head and Vice President of OFI Cameroon, Manna Joseph, said, “From inception, OFI has always been a people-centered company that puts the welfare of employees first.”
He dedicated the prestigious certification to the employees, emphasizing that it reflects the collective efforts of all OFI Cameroon staff.
Joseph emphasized that this award is a testament to OFI Cameroon’s nearly three-decade legacy of being a people-centric organization, dating back to Olam’s initial presence in Cameroon in 1995.
OFI initially focused on sourcing and exporting agri-commodities, specifically cocoa and coffee, and importing rice.
OFI expanded its footprint in Cameroon by acquiring USICAM from Bollore in 2006, making it the country’s largest cocoa beans drying, cleaning, and grading facility at the time.
Olam International, in October 2020, restructured its business, creating Olam Agri for consumer-packaged food and OFI for sustainable, natural, value-added food products and ingredients.
OFI Cameroon, with its flagship product cocoa beans, achieved notable milestones in sustainability, becoming one of the pioneers with 100% traceability, 100% deforestation monitoring, and 100% Child Labor monitoring in managed programs in its direct supply chain.
In 2018, OFI launched an extensive sustainability direct supply chain program, contributing to increased cocoa yields from 969 kg per hectare in 2019 to 639 kg per hectare in 2023.
With a dedication to supporting local communities, OFI’s operations provide direct and indirect sources of income to thousands of farmers and households. The company employs over 500 permanent and seasonal workers, including Local Buying Agents, Transporters, and service providers.
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