Following the announcement of a historic 1.04 million tonnes in cocoa beans purchased by the end of the 2020/2021 crop season, the 3rd annual edition of the Gana Cocoa Awards celebrated this historic achievement and highlighted the industries that contributed to this tremendous milestone.
Despite the negative impact of COVID-19 and climate change on the cocoa industry, the industry showed strong resilience and managed to pull out an outstanding performance breaking a decade-old record.
Ghana Cocoa Awards 2021- The Winners
In line with this great feat, this years theme for Ghana Cocoa Awards 2021 is, “Celebrating Ghana’s Historic Cocoa ProductionMilestone-A Golden Opportunity for the Local Value Addition Agenda.”
With over thirty (30) competitive awards to recognize excellence at the various stages of the cocoa value chain, the 3rd annual Ghana Cocoa Awards was organized at Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel on 12 November 2021.
Below are highlights of selected winners of the Night.
- Decokraft – Chocolate Brand of the Year (Artisanal) at the Ghana Cocoa Awards 2021
DecoKraft is one of the nation’s premier handcrafted chocolates, cakes, and pastries companies with a wide array of chocolate products of which include: Chocolate Bars (with three major variants – Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Chocolate with Plantain Chips), Cocoa Powder, Baking Chocolate, Chocolate Pebbles and an ever-growing portfolio of product offerings.
Established by Akua Obenewaa Donkor ( “The chocolate Lady”), out of a passion for the chocolate industry, Decokraft has not only gained popularity among Ghanaian households but across Africa.
Decokraft has not only produced world-class chocolate products but has supported and encouraged children under the age of eighteen (19) who live in cocoa-growing areas to read. The company does this through its charity fund called “I love to read.”
- Niche chocolate – Brand of the Year, Chocolate Brand of the Year (Conventional) & Processing Company of the Year at the Ghana Cocoa Awards 2021
Established in 2011 and having an installed capacity of 60,000 metric tonnes per year, Niche Chocolate is the leading privately operated cocoa processing company in the country. The company centres on producing high-quality semi-finished cocoa products and confectionery for supply to the global chocolate, ice cream, and bakery industries. Niche does not only produce semi-finished products like natural and alkalized cocoa powder but confectioneries. Some of its confectionery products include: Milk Chocolate – Ginger, Strawberry, Orange, Mango, Honey, and coffee flavour
Niche Chocolate took home 3 awards of the night.
- Adansi Sweet- Artisanl Chocolatier of the Year at the Ghana Cocoa Awards 2021
Located in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, Adansi Sweet was founded in May 2019 by Winifred Oppong Marfo to offer high-quality premium chocolate and other cocoa products to Ghanaians. The mission of the company is to “seek to produce high-quality products at a competitive price using modern technology to provide high satisfaction to our consumers,” while the vision of the company is to” meet & exceed customer’s expectations to ensure a sustainable business relationship.”
Adansi also offers customized handmade chocolates that come in 100g, 50g, 20g sizes. Clients can add personalized messages, select their flavour and add their pictures to the customized chocolates.
- Edmund Agyapong Poku – Cocoa Personality of the Year
Edmund Poku is the founder of Niche Chocolate. Prior to the establishment of Niche Chocolate, Edmund Poku attended university in the United States where he gained his Master’s degree in Engineering Management from Dartmouth College. Edmund Poku climbed up the academic ladder to attain his MBA at Columbia Business School. While there, Edmund submitted his thesis to which his supervisor told him he could successfully start a cocoa processing company.
Edmund did not think much of it, hence went to work as a manager at the American retail store “Home Depot.” He later took a position as an investment banker at the Goldman Sachs Group in New York. The hectic work schedule forced his return to Ghana and that began the journey to establish Niche Cocoa.
“I was working at Wall Street in the early 2000s; I came back from work around 3 am and had to go back to work around 5 am and I kept thinking, how long can I continue doing this? So I packed and came to Ghana,” Edmund recalled in his interview with African Vibes.
- CHOCOMAC GHANA LTD – COMPANY OF THE YEAR at the Ghana Cocoa Awards 2021
Established in 2008, CHOCOMAC company Limited is a cocoa processing company located in the free zone area in Tema, Ghana. The company has an annual output of 12,500 metric tonnes of premium cocoa beans which it processes into cocoa mass.
The cocoa mass is then exported mainly to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East to be used as an ingredient for chocolates and other confectioneries.
- Nana Kwabena Ponkoh II – National Best Cocoa Farmer
Nana Kwabena Ponkoh II is from the Atatoase in the Obuasi District of the Ashanti Region. Nana Kwabena Ponkoh II has a total of 72.11 hectares of a cocoa farm in Obuasi, which produces over 3200 bags of cocoa per year.
On Friday, November 6, 2020, Nana Kwabena Onkoh II was awarded adjudged the National Best Cocoa Farmer at Techiman, the Bono Regional capital.
- Charity Naa Anima Sackitey – Woman of Excellence Award
Charity Anima Sackitey is the Managing Director of SIC Cacao and Barry Callebaut Cameroon. Charity has over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry sector with a proven track record in operations, environment, health, and safety management. She began her career with the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Ghana where she worked as a Quality Manager for eight years. During that period, she pushed for the implementation of Quality Management Systems, EHS systems, and people development to ensure all products and services were compliant with international standards. She holds a degree in Biochemistry from KNUST and MBA in Project Management.
- Joseph Boahen Aidoo – Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ghana Cocoa Awards 2021
Joseph Boahen Aidoo is the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board. He was appointed to the position in January of 2017. Prior to taking over Ghana Cocoa Board, in 2001 Joseph Boahen Aidoo was elected into parliament, where he served as a legislator for three (3) consecutive terms.
Joseph Boahen Aidoo is also a researcher who undertook major international collaborative research with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPR) & H R Wallingford.
Joseph Boahen holds an MPhil Degree in Geography from the University of Ghana, and a Certificate in land reform, agricultural and rural development from the International Centre for Land Policy Studies and Training (ICLPST), Taiwan.
Other winners at the Ghana Cocoa Awards 2021 included:
Nicholas Kumah (ELIHO Ghana) – Business Leader of the Year
Child’s Right International – Change Agent of the Year
Dela Kuejy Austine – Consumption Promotion Ambassador of the Year
Golden Pod Cocoa – Consumption Promotion Campaign of the Year
CJ Commodities – Emerging LBC of the Year
Plot Ghana – Emerging Processing Company of the Year
Oheneba Ofori Boateng (ECO Index Agro Solutions) – Entrepreneur of the Year
BIA West Cooperative Cocoa Farmers – Farmer Cooperative of the Year
Agricultural Development Bank – Financing Institution of the Year
KITEKO Ghana Limited – Haulage Company of the Year
DELFI Ventures Chocolate Factory and Museum – Innovation of the Year
GLICO General – Insurance Company of the Year
Akua Oforiwa Darko (GBC News) – Journalist of the Year
Federated Commodities Limited – LBC of the Year (Indigenous)
ECOM Ghana – LBC of the Year (Sustainable Cocoa)
AMP Logistics – Logistics Company of the Year
Vincent Okyere Akomeah – Marketing Person of the Year
YAYRA Glover Limited – Organic Cocoa Marketer of the Year
FAIRAFRIC Ghana – Outstanding Contribution of the Year
OLAM Cocoa Ghana – Overall Best LBC of the Year
Mediterranean Shipping Company – Shipping Line of the Year
Touton Ghana – Sustainability Initiative of the Year
Yaa Peprah Amekudzi (Cocoa Life Ghana) – Sustainability Personality of the Year
Cocoa Life Ghana – Sustainability Programme of the Year
KOA Impact Ghana LTD – Technology for Cocoa Value Chain
FAIRAFRIC Ghana – Value Addition Company of the Year
