Pure, Liquid Gold: Ngozi Aghomi

At Guinness Ghana (a Diageo company), a knowledge and understanding of the power of the land is imbued within the organization – starting from the very top.

"Africa is a ground where anything can grow. It just needs to be nurtured," Guinness Ghana Supply Chain Director Ngozi Aghomi tells The CEO Magazine as she ponders the opportunities that lie ahead of the fast-moving consumer goods sector across this vast continent.

With extensive experience working with some of the world’s biggest multinational brands such as Kimberly-Clark and Nestlé, Ngozi Aghomi has seen that big business has the power to do exactly that. It’s a mission she decided to further pursue when she joined Guinness Ghana three years ago.

"I saw an opportunity where businesses that are global in nature like Guinness would be able to grow and expand their presence in Africa," she says. "And also in doing that, to build and develop the communities where we operate and where we source and sell."

Partners in Progress

The company’s efforts coincide well with those of the Ghanaian government, which is firmly focused on securing the food supply as well as employment opportunities. Guinness Ghana is therefore pulling out all the stops to support this initiative, Ngozi Aghomi explains.

"We want to hold the hands of our partners in the value chain of our raw material sourcing, to ensure that the government’s ambition to provide food and jobs is met," she says.

This includes the sourcing of raw materials locally, with Guinness’ sorghum and maize now 100 percent from Ghanaian suppliers.

"To ensure that we develop the value chain, that’s our long-term plan," she explains. "We have started some partnerships with some non-governmental organizations to develop the value chain of sorghum. And this impacts over 30,000 lives in terms of direct and indirect engagements we have with farmers, aggregators and the communities where they exist."

By emphasizing local sourcing, the company can further its mission to create a positive impact. Community initiatives to date include the opening up of boreholes to provide clean drinking water all year round.

"We’ve built a number of them around communities where even the hospitals do not have access to potable water, and we want to keep doing that in the long-term," she says.

Working hand in hand with private enterprises to advance the energy transition is another key way that Guinness Ghana is making a real difference, particularly in the area of solar energy.

Female Talent

Guinness Ghana also has a science, technology, economics and mathematics (STEM) program enabling female talent to join the company fresh from school.

"What we’ve started doing the last two years is to bring in female STEM graduates and we train them, we develop them and we make them ready for the industry, not just for Guinness Ghana but for the industry. And it’s been a huge success," Ngozi Aghomi says.

The first set graduated at the start of the year, with a number of them becoming permanent staff of Guinness Ghana. Others in the cohort were hired by multinationals like Nestlé or pursued further study at higher education institutions.

"What this tells me is that we’re now developing the future of our female talent pool in Ghana," Ngozi Aghomi reflects.

"What that also should tell you is that we are here for the long run to not just expand our business and grow our business, but also to ensure that the communities where we are sourcing and selling are also developing themselves, making more money and that our farmers and aggregators can send their children to school from the money they make."

Ripple Effect

The result is a ripple effect that is making its way across the continent, with the upskilling of the local workforce delivering business benefits in the process – a win–win, according to Ngozi Aghomi.

"People that work with Guinness Ghana have the opportunity to expand on their knowledge, to stretch around their abilities, and then to learn and do much more than what they thought possible," she says.

"I, for one, never set out to be in supply chain, but because I was given the opportunity, I had the chance to stretch, to learn, to adapt and to also develop people around me. The opportunities are 360-degree where you operate, you make an impact, you develop people.

"The business also expands their operating margin around their desired ambition. And people also are able to grow and from this, stretch across Africa and beyond."

Macroeconomic factors have proved challenging, Ngozi Aghomi admits. But the company’s prioritization of quality and the strength of its supply chain has seen it retain a powerful position in the local market, as well as valuable partnerships with organizations such as procurement solutions provider Entec International.

"Consumers should be assured that whatever comes from our breweries is pure, liquid gold," she says.

Ngozi Aghomi explains that this is due not only to the high standards Guinness Ghana sets, but also to a company culture which allows all its people to excel.

"I am because we are," she explains. "Look at me, coming from a small community in Lagos, Nigeria. I’m now here on an assignment outside Nigeria with the opportunity of even going global if I so desire.

"You can be anything at Guinness Ghana."