Olam Agri has reaffirmed its commitment to women’s economic empowerment with the graduation of 355 women from its Crown Flour Angels (CFA) Baking Academy, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 1,004 in just three years.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony in Kano, recently, the NABTEB State Coordinator, Talatu Muazu, commended Olam Agri for its sustained focus on women’s capacity development. “Helping the women acquire top baking skills and enrol for professional certification under the same programme is a testament to the Crown Flour Angels initiative’s commitment to excellence. These efforts will have a lasting impact on these young lives, and I am confident they will go on to achieve great things,” she said.
The commissioner for commerce and investment, Kano State, Hon. Shehu Wada Sagagi, who represented the deputy governor, praised the company for empowering women to achieve financial independence.
One of the beneficiaries, Aisha Ahmad Abdullahi, expressed appreciation to Olam Agri for the life-changing opportunity. “I didn’t believe I could bake the way I do now. The skills and insights I have acquired in the academy have raised my confidence in building a baking business,” she said.
Olam Agri’s general manager and head of marketing, Bola Adeniji, described the CFA programme as a reflection of the company’s social impact philosophy. “We believe that real corporate success must go hand-in-hand with social impact. As part of our corporate social responsibility, we are deeply committed to empowering the communities where we operate – and among our most impactful initiatives is the Crown Flour Angels programme,” she stated.
Also speaking, Nitin Mehta, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Olam Agri’s wheat-milling unit, said the programme was designed to help women participate effectively in the economy. “By equipping women with baking and entrepreneurship skills, we are launching them into a growing market where their skills and experience are certain to yield rewards,” he noted.
Anil Nair, Country Head of Olam Agri, highlighted the alignment of the initiative with national development goals. “Olam Agri was founded here in 1989. As a business that originated from Nigeria, we reserve a special place for the country, as evidenced in our continuous investment in improving food systems, enhancing citizens’ well-being, and supporting key federal and state economic growth agendas,” he said.
The CFA Academy, a flagship initiative under Olam Agri’s Seeds for the Future (SFTF) programme, provides women with intensive four-week training in baking and entrepreneurship, culminating in professional certification from the National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB).
