By Emmanuel Uffot
Dangote Industries Limited a major player in the manufacturing sector in Nigeria has added another laurel to its chain of awards for distinguished performance as a reputable leader in the real sector in Nigeria. The manufacturing giant has won the World Travel Market Award through its commercials in CNN.
The CNN award was disclosed by the company last Sunday through a statement that it won “Most Compelling Agency Story” award by the World Travel Market (WTM) with its ‘Farm to Table’ commercial. The commercial, which is part of the ‘Touching Lives’ documentary aired weekly on CNN, detailed the process of food metamorphosis from the farm as raw material to final process as food on the tables at home.
According to CNN International Commercial Account Executive, Varshmi Arasalingam, the award recognises powerful storytelling capabilities. He affirmed that the Touching Lives Farm to Table campaign holds a prominent socio-economic impact for which Dangote Industries continues to empower and improve the lives of people in Africa. “We are extremely pleased to announce that Dangote Industries and CNN International Commercial are the winners of the WTM Africa Awards for the ‘Most Compelling Agency Story. “Dangote Industries is one the most diversified business conglomerates in Africa, with multiple entities impacting the daily lives of most of the continent’s population,” Arasalingam stated.
In eulogizing Dangote CNN Commercial Executive stressed the dominance of the company both in employment and food production among others
“The company provides the population with employment opportunities that are also self-sustaining through basic needs, such as food, cement, construction, agriculture, and technology. He said that through a branded content production, CNN International Commercial (CNNIC) wanted to showcase Dangote Industries empowering Africans through employment and self-sufficient opportunities. On the award focus he added the campaign promotes Nigeria and the wider continent through the stories of real people, and focuses on the connections people have with each other, be it in their work and daily lives. “The character-driven story helps to change perceptions and encourage global audiences to visit Nigeria (and the African continent more generally) so they can experience and understand its culture and hospitality. “It also shows that we should not look at the travel and tourism as a narrow sector, but instead view it as part of a larger socio-economic project. “In this way, travel and tourism can empower and improve the lives of people in Africa – and all over the world – a goal Dangote is dedicated to realizing,” he said.
In his reaction on the award, Dangote Industries Group Chief Branding and Corporate Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, said the management was delighted at the award which goes to show that the company was living up to its billing as the most diversified conglomerate in Africa. He said the Commercial shot by the CNN which has won the award depicted the businesses of the company and gave vent to how we arrive at our mission statement of meeting the expectation of the people by providing for their basic needs. “It simply demonstrates how it starts from the farm through which our people are engaged in every process before it gets to table at home.” he said.
The award is coming shortly after the Dangote Group headed by business mogul and richest entrepreneur Alhaji Aliko Dangote emerged the most admired brand in Africa.
The latest award is just one of the many awards the company has won in recent years through its array of products and services.
In 2018, it won the prestigious Nigerian Risk Award for its exemplary risk management of its production.
The company in the midst of the current era of global Covid-19 pandemic announced a gross rise in its cement sales for the first quarter of this year.
According to Dangote Cement Plc, Africa’s biggest producer of the building material its first quarter revenue was boosted by a surge in sales from Nigeria, its home market. Revenue for the first quarter through March increased 3.8% to 249.2 billion naira ($647 million) while net income was little-changed at 60.6 billion naira from 60.3 billion naira, it said in a statement to the Nigerian Stock Exchange. It said its sales from Nigeria rose by 5.6% to 179.3 billion naira.
“The year started strongly with growth across the board, record sales in Nigeria and good profit margins in the company’s Pan-African operations despite the early effect of the coronavirus pandemic”, Michel Puchercos, group chief executive officer said.
The company however acknowledged the effect of Covid-19 on its operation thus “Most economies on the continent including Nigeria, South Africa, Congo, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Senegal where Dangote has operations have been hampered by movement restrictions to contain covid-19, which coincided with a fall in crude prices that hurt commodity dependent countries. The lockdown in South Africa affected Dangote Cement’s sales in the continent at the end of March”. the company said.
The company in order to further boost its cement sales domination in Africa plans to start exporting clinker to West and Central Africa.