Bamburi Cement Plc was named East Africa’s top firm in the Women Economic Empowerment agenda at the annual Accenture 11th Africa Gender Mainstreaming Awards 2023 (GMAs) held in Nairobi.
Bamburi Cement received the award through its waste management arm, Geocycle, for its collaboration with 10 women-owned scrap tyre and rice husks organizations across the country, which collected and provided more than 25,000 tons of waste co-processed in the kilns to produce renewable energy while diverting waste that could have otherwise ended up in landfills.
Bamburi Cement has supported these women-led organizations over the last 10 years, unlocking more than Ksh100 million in market opportunities and creating direct job creation in their communities.
Bamburi Cement Chief Executive Director, Mr. Mohit Kapoor, said this award demonstrates its efforts in the sustainable procurement agenda, whose key focus is to ensure diversity and gender inclusivity in access to procurement deals.
“This award gives us the motivation to scale up our efforts in mainstreaming more women into our supply chain and that of the industry. We are committed to developing initiatives that bring to life a more balanced and competitive supply chain within our systems allowing women-owned businesses to participate and grow economically,” Mr Kapoor stated.
In its economic empowerment category, the Accenture Gender Mainstreaming Awards Africa acknowledges organizations that have strategies in place to allow for future empowerment of women-owned and managed businesses or have successfully used enterprise development as a mechanism to empower women-owned and managed businesses. The awards also recognize companies that source products and services from previously underutilized women-owned suppliers, resulting in several growth-oriented women entrepreneurs.
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Bamburi Cement Plc Sustainability and Geocycle Director Jane Wangari said the recognition validates its commitment and collaboration with the community for a transition to a zero-waste future and a circular economy agenda. “Our partnerships with our women-owned waste organizations have aided in partly solving waste collection from various parts of the country and ensuring they are disposed of correctly in respect to regulatory standards and in alignment to our sustainability goals,” said Ms Wangari.
Last year, Bamburi won the same award for its Women on Wheels (WoW) initiative that trains and empowers female truck drivers. By the end of 2025, Bamburi Cement targets to increase its total procurement spend on special groups, including women-owned businesses, to 30% from the current 10%.
To encourage more women to participate in taking up opportunities in the supply chain, Bamburi Cement is working with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on a gender program. The Source2Equal program supports the increase in procurement opportunities for women-owned enterprises in Kenya.
Under the initiative, Bamburi Cement holds business matchmaking events and pitching lessons to empower women-owned businesses to be proactive and participate actively in procurement opportunities.
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