Agricultural commodities giant Olam Agri received workplace excellence certification in ten countries including Ghana, marking the sixth consecutive year the company has earned Top Employer recognition across Africa.
The Top Employers Institute announced January 15 that Olam Agri qualified for 2026 certification in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Australia, The Netherlands and Switzerland. The continental Africa designation represents the sixth straight year the Singapore headquartered agribusiness has met institute standards for human resources practices across its African operations.
The certification validates organizational commitment to employee development, workplace culture and business performance alignment. Top Employers Institute evaluates companies through its Human Resources Best Practices Survey examining six domains: People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, and Wellbeing. Active in 131 countries and regions, the institute certified nearly 2,500 organizations in 2025, positively impacting over 14 million employees globally.
Sriram Subramanian, Group Head of Human Resources at Olam Agri, characterized the multi market recognition as reflecting measurable impact from the company’s people philosophy and cultural strength. He emphasized continued focus on building high engagement and high performance environments through active investment in leadership development, domain expertise, employee wellbeing and inclusion to ensure teams deliver superior outcomes for customers, partners and environmental sustainability.
The agribusiness structures its employee value proposition around three pillars. First, a culture of excellence emphasizing collaborative and inclusive workplaces that reward meritocracy and entrepreneurial thinking while supporting intelligent risk taking through trust, autonomy and open leadership access. Second, a purpose driven workplace centered on sustainability, enabling employees to contribute toward strengthening global food security, improving nutrition access, enhancing livelihoods and addressing climate change. Third, opportunity to flourish through global footprint enabling diverse career paths, international exposure and continuous learning allowing employees to shape careers while feeling valued, recognized and supported.
Audrey Achaw, Human Resources Head at Olam Agri Ghana, stated the sixth consecutive certification validates firm commitment to creating workplaces where people can thrive. She noted continued investment in employee development, welfare and satisfaction fostering environments that inspire excellence and innovation. The recognition reflects dedication from entire teams and motivates setting new standards in employee engagement and workplace culture.
Baibhav Biswas, Country Head of Olam Agri Ghana, emphasized people stand at the heart of everything achieved in Ghana. He described the sixth consecutive certification as reflecting talent, dedication and collaborative spirit from teams. As operations grow and presence strengthens in Ghana’s food and agriculture sector, investing in people remains top priority. The company builds not just successful business but workplaces where Ghanaians can build meaningful careers and contribute to national food security and economic development.
Top Employers Institute Chief Executive Officer Adrian Seligman commented that achieving 2026 certification reflects Olam Agri’s dedication to building outstanding workplaces enabling sustained business performance. Strong alignment between people strategy and organizational goals, combined with commitment to continuous improvement, demonstrates impact from transformative practices. The institute proudly recognizes Olam Agri for meaningful contribution to a better world of work.
Olam Agri maintains market leading positions in food, feed and fiber agribusiness with global origination footprint, processing capabilities and deep market understanding built over 35 years. Strong presence in high growth emerging markets spans products across grains and oilseeds, wheat milling and pasta, rice, edible oils, specialty grains and seeds, animal feed and protein, cotton, wood products, rubber, sugar and bioenergy alongside risk management solutions. The company sits at the heart of global food and agri trade flows, handling 45.1 million metric tons in volume during 2024.
Olam Agri Holdings Limited, which holds the Olam Agri business, operates as a 64.6 percent owned subsidiary of Olam Group. SALIC International Investment Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of strategic partner The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Company, owns 35.4 percent of Olam Agri Holdings.
Parent company Olam Group operates as a leading food and agribusiness supplying food, ingredients, feed and fiber to 22,000 customers worldwide. The value chain spans over 60 countries including farming, processing and distribution operations alongside a global network of farmers. Through its purpose to re imagine global agriculture and food systems, Olam Group aims to address challenges involved in meeting needs of growing global populations while achieving positive impact for farming communities, the planet and all stakeholders. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, Olam Group currently ranks among the top 30 largest primary listed companies by market capitalization on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading (SGX ST).
Beyond Top Employer recognition, Olam Agri has received Great Place to Work certification for Brazil, India and Singapore operations, plus Kincentric Best Employers Award for China and Thailand. These complementary certifications demonstrate consistent workplace excellence across diverse geographic markets and regulatory environments.
The company employs approximately 9,600 people globally across manufacturing, procurement, technical services and support functions. In Ghana specifically, operations span wheat milling, grains trading and agricultural supply chain management. The company maintains significant cocoa buying operations as one of Ghana’s largest licensed buying agencies, creating employment for workforces servicing millions of distributors, retailers and consumers nationwide.
Ghana operations benefit from standardized frameworks for recognition schemes across all activities, supported by rigorous employee engagement initiatives over recent periods. The company emphasizes talent practices ensuring strong and diverse talent pools engage for operations. Career opportunities range from field procurement to factory manufacturing and technical services through office based support functions.
The consecutive recognition streak demonstrates sustained organizational commitment rather than one time achievement. Maintaining Top Employer status requires annual recertification through updated surveys and audits, ensuring companies continuously meet evolving workplace standards rather than relying on past performance.
Recent company initiatives in Africa include the Bake and Shine Initiative in Cameroon, training 80 women in baking, confectionery and essential business skills to promote entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods. The program provided health screenings, startup kits and certificates. Additionally, Olam launched Dêmin, meaning support in the Malinké language, supporting partner producers in acquiring vehicles and transport equipment aimed at improving productivity and operational performance.
The workplace recognition arrives as agricultural commodity companies face intensifying competition for skilled talent amid rapid technological transformation, sustainability pressures and evolving consumer expectations. Companies demonstrating strong employee value propositions gain advantages in attracting and retaining expertise necessary for navigating complex global supply chains and regulatory environments.
Industry observers note that consistent Top Employer certification provides competitive differentiation in talent markets where candidates increasingly prioritize organizational culture, development opportunities and purpose alignment alongside traditional compensation considerations. The multi year recognition signals institutional commitment to workplace excellence rather than temporary initiatives.
