CIG was delighted to be in attendance at the 2nd annual Ghana Cocoa Awards, hosted at Kempinski Hotel in Accra last Saturday. Visitors who arrived for the pre-awards exhibition had a chance to meet with CIG co-founders Moutia Murheb and Kristy Leissle, at our table and learn more about our events, education, and support for entrepreneurs. Visitors from across the cocoa supply chain in Ghana were especially enthusiastic to see our CocoaTown melangeur, a table-top machine for making chocolate from cocoa beans. As Brand Ambassador for CocoaTown, we represent the award-winning chocolate machinery maker in West Africa, and are always happy to discuss machines with chocolate makers—and hopeful chocolate makers!
After closing out at the exhibition, we were thrilled to find our VIP seats for the awards ceremony, and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Kristy is on the advisory board for GCA, and had been one of the judges. It was wonderful to see the winners accept their well-deserved awards, including Ohene Cocoa for Ecotourism Provider of the Year, Rahul Gopinath of Ecom Ghana for CEO of the year, and Cocoa Life Ghana for Sustainability Initiative of the Year. It was especially gratifying to see Kwetey Nartey win Journalist of the Year for the powerful documentary Missing Kilos, on the rampant weighing corruption that plagues farmers when they sell their cocoa.
Our heartfelt congratulations to all the winners of the evening, and to GCA founder and visionary, Kojo Hayford of The Cocoa Post, for a super-successful event. It was a brilliant evening from start to finish, and we are already looking forward to next year.
