Olam Agri CEO Amitav Biswas wins Agribusiness award for food security, industrialization push
The pasta manufacturing facility creates jobs across manufacturing, logistics, and distribution sectors.
GHANA – Amitav Biswas, head of Olam Agri Ghana, has been named Agribusiness CEO of the Year at the Ghana CEO Excellence Awards, with judges citing his role in expanding operations that strengthen national food security and the country’s industrialization agenda.
Olam Agri’s investment impacts Ghana’s national food security through multiple channels. For instance, under Biswas’s leadership, the company commissioned Ghana’s first purpose-built pasta manufacturing facility, a US$40 million investment that anchors local food processing and import substitution.
Additionally, the plant produces the First Choice Premium Spaghetti range, adds domestic value, and reduces reliance on imported pasta. Furthermore, the company has reinforced the supply chain for locally produced flour by working closely with bakers, distributors, and trade partners across the country’s baking industry.
On the other hand, the company is driving industrialization and job creation through strategic infrastructure investments and partnership models. The pasta manufacturing facility creates jobs across manufacturing, logistics, and distribution sectors.
Beyond direct employment, Olam Agri Ghana has deepened ties with the baking industry, supporting skills development and ensuring stable supply chains for locally produced flour.
This year’s Ghana CEO Summit, where the award was presented, convened heads of state, investors, and senior policymakers under the theme of accelerating Ghana’s economic transformation through leadership, technology, and industrialization.
President John Dramani Mahama stressed the need to move from economic stabilization toward long-term structural transformation driven by industrialization and innovation.
“This recognition belongs to our team and the communities we work with,” Biswas said.
For MEA fresh produce and agribusiness stakeholders, Olam Agri Ghana’s model demonstrates how corporate leadership can align with national goals to drive sustainable industrialization and community empowerment.
The recognition of Biswas at a summit focused on leadership, technology, and industrialization signals that Ghana’s government views private-sector agribusiness as a partner in national transformation, not merely a tax base.
Moreover, the award to Biswas is recognition not just of past achievements but of a way of doing business that other agribusiness leaders across MEA would do well to study and adapt to their own national contexts.
Lastly, Ghana’s experience suggests that early movers in industrialization partnerships gain both market share and policy favour. That is a competitive advantage not worth overlooking.
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