COCOBOD HOLDS FIRST INNOVATION MARKETPLACE

Date: 29th May 2023

Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) in conjunction with Maddison Pine, has held the first edition of its Innovation Marketplace at Cocoa House, Accra to interact and generate innovative ideas, from staff of the Board, its subsidiaries and divisions to build an agile cocoa sector.

The Innovation Marketplace, which was held under the theme “Realizing the Real Potential of Enterprise-wide Innovation", also seeks to achieve efficiency in operations and promote high performance and productivity.

The Ghana Cocoa Board Innovation Marketplace, gave selected representatives from the subsidiaries and divisions the opportunity to present their innovative concepts to the Board.

Welcoming staff of the Board to the event, the Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Fiifi Boafo, expressed admiration at the interest by staff towards the marketplace albeit the first edition. He explained that COCOBOD is on a transformational agenda and as part of that trajectory, the Board seeks to implement policies using the bottom-up approach by encouraging staff to come up with proposals which provide innovative solutions to organizational issues.

Mr. Francis Gyamfi Ocran, Director of Human Resources, in his address, stated that the project started as a result of recommendations made by the World Bank, to COCOBOD, to work on its “corporate governance system and cultural and behaviour change”. According to him, management of COCOBOD engaged the services of Maddison Pine, a UK- based firm which offers consultation services in corporate governance and business transformation, to assist in implementing the World Bank's recommendations.

“Since coming on board, Maddison Pine has sensitized staff across the regions to bring all on board and this event ties into the mandate of the consultant”, he indicated.

He added that the innovation Marketplace is the transformation project expected to be run in phases by Maddison Pine to harvest ideas to promote innovation. Mr Gyamfi Ocran reiterated the bottom-up approach of the project saying “it is an opportunity for staff who ordinarily may not have the opportunity to take part in decision- making affecting the industry to do so. This platform is going to afford members of staff with ideas to contribute...”

Dr. Olu Ajayi, the CEO of Maddison Pine, described the innovation marketplace as employee-driven to enhance “employee engagement and commitment as we build a better COCOBOD”. She added that the project “is essentially about the democratisation of transformation, giving everyone an opportunity to be a co-creator and to be a change champion, giving the workforce the capacity and the voice to become innovators”. She concluded that, “The COCOBOD we want is the COCOBOD we create” and encouraged staff to be change makers.

On his part, the Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board, Hon Joseph Boahen Aidoo, was optimistic about the inputs of staff and how they could help to garner ideas to support the Board's activities. “I believe there are great ideas among staff, and this is the right time for us to market them to build a robust industry”, he expressed.

Hon Boahen Aidoo emphasized creative ideas which address the teething challenges that have continued to thwart efforts at pursuing a transformational agenda for the Board over the past six years.

Comparing COCOBOD to the human body and how each part depends on the other, he stressed the importance of every member of the COCOBOD fraternity irrespective of age, rank division or subsidiary.

“We want to go the extra mile, and this should come from you. We want more ideas from you, this time it’s not to complain; this time around we want innovative ideas that can assist the industry to make the transformational progress”, he said.

Mr Peter Mac Manu, Chairman of the Board of Directors COCOBOD, thanked the participants for their ideas and encouraged them to come up with more innovative ideas. He assured them of the Board's cooperation.

The innovative Marketplace will be held quarterly to harness employees’ creative and innovative potential to promote an agile culture at COCOBOD.

The event had representatives from the Cocoa Health & Extension Division (CHED), Seed Production Division (SPD), Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC), Quality Control Company (QCC) and Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG), presenting creative ideas and proposals to the Board.