The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs is pleased to announce five winners of the 2023 Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE). Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will present these five American companies, large and small, with the award in a ceremony on October 30, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. EDT at the State Department. The 2023 ACE categories are Women's Economic Security; Innovation; and Sustainable Supply Chains.
The award recognizes two companies in the category Women's Economic Security. Avertra Corp., operating in Amman, Jordan, is a medium-sized Virginia-based American software firm dedicated to an equitable and inclusive workplace for women in a male-dominated field. The second winner is Google Poland, which is setting the standard in promoting gender equality in the workplace and supporting women in tech initiatives in Poland, Ukraine, and the region, including Ukrainian refugees from Russia's brutal war against Ukraine.
In the Innovation category, the 2023 ACE Winner is Kentegra Biotechnology, operating out of Nairobi, Kenya. Kentegra is a biotech firm that has pioneered Kenya’s revival as a global leader in cultivating pyrethrum with smallholder farmers. Pyrethrum is a climate change-resistant cash crop and is an active ingredient used in sustainable organic biopesticides to grow healthier food and provide stronger crop protection.
In Sustainable Supply Chains, the first 2023 ACE Winner is Ampersand USA Inc., operating in Kigali, Rwanda. Ampersand is Africa's first mobility energy company, providing electricity and vehicles to power fleets of thousands of electric motorcycle taxis across the continent. The second winner is Parsyl, Abidjan, Cte d’Ivoire, a supply chain technology company specializing in risk management and cargo insurance for perishable goods. It supports cold chain data collection and analytics at the national, district, and local levels in Senegal, Cte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Niger, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to help strengthen vaccine supply chain systems and identify needed improvements.
This year marks the Award for Corporate Excellence's 24th anniversary. Established in 1999, ACE recognizes the crucial role U.S. companies are playing in elevating global standards of business conduct. Together, these companies are leading the way in addressing some of our greatest global challenges.
The U.S. Department of State is committed to working with companies to further responsible business practices worldwide and to recognize their efforts to improve lives at home and abroad. For more information, please visit: http://www.state.gov/ace.
The invitation-only 2023 ACE ceremony will be open to credentialed members of the media on a space-available basis. A separate notice to the press with access details will be issued soon. For media inquiries, please contact eb-press-inquiry@state.gov.