Nkulenu Industries Limited founded by one of Ghana’s great entrepreneurs, Dr Mrs Esther Ocloo has won a manufacturing Innovation Award at the just ended 2020 Ghana Manufacturing Awards.
The Awards celebrates innovation in the industry with the ultimate aim of compelling professionals and companies to be novel.
This year event was powered by XO-communication and Nkulenu Industries an award.
Nkulenu Industries Ltd is a leading food processing company in Ghana. It was established in 1942 by Dr Mrs Esther Ocloo to create employment for herself.
She did this because after leaving Achimota College, there was no job opening due to the aftermath of the Second World War.
Esther Nkulenu invested a sum of six out of 10 shillings pocket money given to her by an Aunt; the lateJosephine Nkulenu (Mrs. Mensah) into oranges, sugar, firewood and used jam jars, to produce twelve jars of marmalade.
In pricing the marmalade, she decided on a 100 per cent markup and sold a jar at one shilling. She had no difficulty in selling her marmalade thereof due to the shortage created by the war.
This encouraged her to add orange squash under the brand name “NKULENU” which has survived to date.
Mrs Ocloo, an industrialist, a preservationist, an AGI Hall of Famer and a national legend was the founder and first president, Federation of Ghana Industries, now Association of Ghana Industries from 1958-1961.
As a co-founder of Women’s World Banking from 1979 to 1985, she promoted the availability of credit to women with small loans to support their businesses and to make them economically independent.
She is acknowledged for her hard work to promote locally made products which led to her organising a locally manufactured products exhibition.
She was appointed to many public office positions, including the first Executive Chairperson of the National Food and Nutrition Board in 1963, advisor to the Council of Women and Development, a member of Ghana’s National Economic Advisory Committee (1978-1979).