Meet our 2019 Honourees
Each year, Business for Peace recognises exceptional global business leaders who exemplify the Foundation’s concept of being businessworthy by ethically creating economic value that also creates value for society. Honourees are selected by an independent committee of Nobel Prize winners in Peace and in Economics after a global nomination process through the International Chamber of Commerce, United Nations Global Compact, United Nations Development Programme, and Principles for Responsible Investment.
The 2019 recipients are: Dr Agbor Ashumanyi Ako, co-founder of GiftedMom, Alice Laugher, the CEO of CTG (Committed to Good) and Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder and CEO of Chobani. Read the press release about the 2019 Honourees here and watch the video below to learn more.
2019 Oslo Business for Peace Award Honourees
Agbor Ashumanyi Ako (Cameroon)
Medical Director and Co-Founder of GiftedMom
Agbor Ashumanyi Ako is one of the co-founders of GiftedMom, a digital health platform based in Cameroon that gives pregnant women and mothers across Africa access to vital health information and care. As a digital-first platform, GiftedMom is able to expand faster than traditional health care systems and the start-up aims to reach 10 million women in the next 10 years. Started by Alain Nteff and Doctor Tankou Conrad in 2012, the platform now has over 170,000 users. The award-winning app has significantly improved both pregnancy check-up attendance and vaccination turnouts, with an ultimate goal to see a world free of preventable maternal and infant deaths.
Dr Agbor said: “This recognition is a symbol to show that there is progress in the right direction for the company GiftedMom. It comes as a reminder of the mission ahead. Being nominated by experts from the United Nations Development Programme Business Call to Action community and selected by former Nobel Peace Prize laureates is an indication of how the work GiftedMom is doing provides a global solution to help solve today’s challenges.”
Dr Agbor receives the Award for his businessworthy efforts in Cameroon to create a world free of maternal and infant mortality by using last-mile technologies. He and his colleagues have built an inspiring social enterprise that empowers marginalised women who otherwise lack access to basic health information and support. With GiftedMom, Dr Agbor demonstrates the importance of how start-ups in the Global South can positively impact lives on a large scale, contributing to a more equitable and peaceful society.
Alice Laugher (United Kingdom)
CEO of Committed to Good (CTG)
Alice Laugher is the CEO of CTG, Committed to Good, which provides employment and logistics services to development and relief programmes in fragile and conflict-affected countries. From running Ebola treatment clinics in Liberia, to food distribution in Afghanistan and South Sudan, monitoring and assisting refugees in Libya, and rebuilding government constitution in Somalia, the work of CTG is as diverse as our world’s issues.
She said: “At CTG, we’ve made empowering women through humanitarian employment in conflict-affected regions our focus. This award, this incredible recognition for our commitment, strengthens our determinations that we are moving in the right direction. I hope it will inspire business leaders, both women and men, to believe that their commitments to change and peace – no matter how small or large in scale – are the only way forward.”
Ms Laugher receives the Award for being an outspoken advocate of businessworthy values, leading CTG, a successful, sustainable company with social responsibility and gender equality at its core. Ms Laugher is a Sustainable Development Goal Pioneer who is passionate about female empowerment and making a difference in conflict-affected areas. She has made women’s empowerment CTG’s business priority, as she believes it is key to economic growth and an essential step towards sustainable peace.
Hamdi Ulukaya (Turkey)
Founder and CEO of Chobani
Hamdi Ulukaya is the founder and CEO of Chobani, the company behind the number one Greek yoghurt in America. Today, Chobani has over 2,000 employees in the United States, 30 percent of which are legally resettled immigrants and refugees. Ulukaya has created a corporate culture in which everyone is welcome and has an opportunity to thrive; with innovative profit-sharing and parental leave programmes. Ulukaya has also taken a leadership role in the global business community to encourage action from the private sector to tackle the global refugee crisis.
Ulukaya said “I’m very humbled by this honor, and I’m proud to accept it on behalf of the women and men of team Chobani. This new way of business–where companies focus on people and not just profits, try to make the world a little bit better–should be at the heart of every modern company. As CEOs we don’t need to have more, we need to do more. When we see an injustice, we need to speak out. When we have tools and resources to solve problems, we have to use them.”
Mr Ulukaya receives the Award for his businessworthy values, leading Chobani, and for being an advocate of ethical and responsible business. He believes that business is the strongest, most effective way to change the world. As an exceptional entrepreneur and humanitarian, he is a role model who embraces inclusion and supports minorities, both through offering employment opportunities and by promoting and pushing these values through the work of the Tent Foundation.