The organisers of the Sustainability, Enterprise, and Responsibility Awards, otherwise known as The SERAS CSR Awards Africa, have announced a list of finalists that have made it into the finals draws.
The annual awards which has held for 13 consecutive years, and over time has evolved into the biggest awards of its kind, and the most important recognition in CSR and sustainability in Africa, holds the closing ceremony and gala night of the 2019 edition on November 23rd, at the Grand Ballroom of the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, at 6 pm.
A total number of 151 organisations applied for the honours. The applications came from large, medium scale, and non-governmental organisations operating around Africa. The 2019 edition also sets a record for the highest number of new participants as 29 organisation registered for the first time.
After a rigorous investigation exercise and field visits as well as documented interviews with stakeholders, the judges committee presided over by Deborah Liepziger, who authored the UN Codebook on Social Responsibility has released the list of finalists that include – Lafarge, Flour Mills, Unilever, IHS Towers, Access Bank, Dangote Rice Limited, Dangote Cement, Nigeria LNG, Union Bank, Nestle, Unilever, Hacey Health Initiatives, Reckitt Benckiser, Zenith Bank, Coca-Cola, Airtel, Nigeria Breweries, UBA Foundation, Chevron, Nigeria Bottling Company, 9mobile, ACT Foundation, Nigeria Stock Exchange, Oando Foundation, KCB Group (Kenya) amongst many others.
Also listed for individual honours are His Highness, Muhammad Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano – who was recently appointed by the United Nations as a special envoy for the Sustainable Development Goals. Based on his work in promoting the SDGs in Africa, he emerges as The SERAS 2019 Sustainability Champion of the year. Chairperson of First Bank Nigeria PLC, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibukun Awosika was selected to receive The SERAS gold standard award for her work in the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of the girl-child in Nigeria. Other individual honorees include – Metropolitan Pastor Paul Adefarasin, Founder, House On The Rock/ Rock Foundation; Professor Ezekiel NyamungaOkemwa, Founder, Climate Active National Organic Permaculture Solutions (CANOPS), Kenya; FauziyaAbdi (Kenya) and Masahiro Ishihara (Japan Bio-farm, Rwanda).
A total of 25 all gold SERAS statuettes will go to deserving winners.
According to Mary Ephraim, the executive director of TruCSR Consulting, and chairperson of the local organising committee, “we have come to the most epochal point of the process that began in March 2019, where the most responsible businesses in Africa are unveiled to the whole world. As always, our goal is to deliver a world class awards ceremony that offers the best experience for all our guests, and one that shows the other organisations in Africa why business-for-good can only make the world a better place for all. Every preceding awards ceremony over the years has always been an upgrade of the former. This edition is not going to be any different.”
The SERAS – CSR Awardswhich isan annual project aimed to promote as well as raise awareness about the role organizations play with emphasis on their responsibility towards stakeholders and the social development of Africa. The Awards is Nigeria and Africa’s first and premier Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability Awards, is aimed at accentuating, recognizing and celebrating the efforts of socially responsible organisations who have imbibed the ethos of giving back to society through their various interventions in line with the UN’s sustainable development goals.
Over the years, The SERASCSR Awards international positioning as the biggest, the most credible and most glamorous on the continent has taken further leap with the participation of organisations from Angola, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania and Ghana amongst others.
Some of the past winners of the overall prize include- MTN, Access Bank, Nigerian Breweries, Lafarge, GTBank, Safaricom (Kenya) and, Investec Bank (South Africa)
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