Non-alcoholic beverage giant, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited has emerged winner in the ‘Best Company in Education’ category at the 13th edition of the Social Enterprise Responsibility Awards (SERA) CSR Africa Awards, which was held recently in Lagos.
NBC was declared winner ahead of other organizations nominated in the category including Chevron Nigeria Limited, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Nigerian Liquefied and Natural Gas (NLNG), 9Mobile and Oando Foundation.
According to the award organizers, the company was declared winner for the category due to its outstanding and consistent commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development in the area of education. In 2019 and over the past years, NBC has contributed to the empowerment of youth with education through various interventions, ranging from significant investments in the renovation and provision of educational facilities, to its Youth Empowered Initiative which is equipping undergraduates with Entrepreneurship, Life and Networking skills to prepare them to start their own businesses or transition easily to meaningful employment.
Receiving the award on behalf of the company, the Sustainability and Community Manager, Nigerian Bottling Company Limited, Ifeoma Okoye described the award as a recognition of the company’s significant contribution to improving the quality of education in Nigeria.
“We are incredibly honored to have our efforts and contributions recognized with this award. At Nigerian Bottling Company Limited, we believe that education is crucial for the development of any society. Therefore, the commitment to enrich our communities by empowering youth is embedded in in our purpose as a company. We hope to continue on this path to foster growth in the Nigerian education sector as we remain committed to creating value for our shareholders, customers, employees, communities and the society at large”, Okoye said.
Okoye dedicated the award to her colleagues at NBC, especially for their unwavering focus and commitment to ensure that lives of the people across the country are touched and improved.
NBC was also nominated in two other categories for the awards; Best Company in Climate Action and Best Company in Affordable Energy, competing with Access Bank, Lafarge Africa, International Breweries and Clean Cyclers.
The SERAS-CSR Awards Africa is an annual project, which aims to promote as well as raise awareness about the role organizations play to make the actualization of the sustainable development goals possible across the various countries of Africa. The annual awards, which first berthed in 2007, has grown to become highly lauded not only in Nigeria but also across Africa, galvanizing a CSR and Sustainability industry while encouraging organisations to annually intervene in the areas of health, education, infrastructure, environment and other sustainable development goals as outlined by United Nations.
It would be recalled that Nigerian Bottling Company Limited was adjudged the ‘Best Company in Gender Equality and Women Empowerment award at the 2018 edition of the award.