Dr. Kwabena Adjei, Founder/Chairman of Kasapreko Limited has been awarded Master Entrepreneur of the Year in the West African edition of the Ernst & Young [EY] World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, held at Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos, Nigeria on February 5, 2016.
His firm, Kasapreko Company Limited based in Accra, Ghana is the maker of authentic Alomo Bitters – the brand named by CNN as one of the top 5 emerging drink brands in the world recently, and has seen major success across West Africa and beyond at the 5th edition of the award.
The World Entrepreneur of the Year Award programme was created by Ernst & Young to recognise the accomplishments of entrepreneurs with Award programmes in more than 60 countries around the globe.
Members of this elite community are exceptional leaders, who defy the status quo, drive innovation, create jobs and transform economies.
In the wake of all his achievements, Adjei recently launched a $70m state of the art bottling plant for Kasapreko in Ghana, which will churn out hundreds of thousands of bottles a day, of a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks which include Kalahari Bitters and Carnival Strawberry.
The award was launched in West Africa in 2011, the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award programme is about honouring and celebrating entrepreneurs who have combined ingenuity, hard-work and perseverance to create and successfully sustained growing businesses and has enjoyed international recognition for the past 30 years.
EY started the Entrepreneur of the Year awards programme in 1986 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States, to celebrate successful entrepreneurs, so they could share their stories, inspire others and receive the recognition they deserve. By 1987, it was held across 11 cities, and by 1993, the programme started to expand internationally.
In 2000, EY went global and started World Entrepreneur of the Year. Held annually in Monaco, Entrepreneur of the Year country winners compete for the World Entrepreneur of the Year title.
Today, the programme spans more than 150 cities in 50 countries, which together represent more than 90 per cent of the global economy.
Meanwhile, there are three major categories of Awards, while two are competed for; one is more or less an honorary award.
In West Africa chapter of the programme, the Awards are: Master Entrepreneur category; Emerging Entrepreneur category and Life-time Achievement Award.
The Master and Emerging are competed for, while the Life-time Achievement Award is given to individuals, who have built great business empires over the years.
Dr. Adjei also paid a courtesy visit on Ghana High Commission in Nigeria, Lagos Consulate, where he was received by Mr. Kwabena O. Appiah, Consul-general.
The Consul-general praised the chairman of Kasapreko for being Ghana’s worthy ambassador, as well as a brief stop-over at the prestigious Lagos Business School where he was received by the school’s Associate Director, Executive Education, Bridget Chukwumah.
Past winners of the Master Entrepreneur of the Year category include AigbojeAig-Imoukhuede, former Group Managing Director of Access Bank [2011]; Alhaji Aliko Dangote [2012]; Mr. Austin Avuru, Managing Director of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc [2013] and Jubril Adewale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive of Oando Plc [2014].