150 days of growing people and potential. Across Meridian. Across Africa.
Through a pioneering partnership between Maáden and the Meridian Group, a visionary initiative to transform and re-imagine the future of Africa is born.
This initiative is about more than growing a business. It is an initiative that sets out to redefine Africa’s agricultural future by fostering sustainable prosperity, now and for future generations.
Introducing Program Kukua
Kukua, meaning ‘To Grow’ in Swahili, was introduced to bring Meridian’s vision to life – a vision dedicated to creating a better world by growing Africa’s agricultural wealth and Africa’s people, purposefully, collaboratively, together.
THE PERFORMANCE CHALLENGE:
Meridian faced the unique challenge of not just expanding its business blueprint but making a positive impact on every individual’s life.
How do you create a journey that everyone can be part of while navigating a landscape that spans six different countries, 3000 permanent employees and 1900 contracted employees, speaking at least nine different languages.
Meridian also grappled with significant Governance, Risk and Compliance challenges including fragmented governance structures, misaligned policies and disjointed risk management, which made making strategic decisions an obstacle.
On the EHSS front, the company faced hurdles such as seasonal work varying risk perceptions, substantial staff turnover, and a predominantly unskilled workforce, resulting in a conspicuous lack of safety culture manifested in elevated incident rates. Compounding these challenges were fragmented financial reporting systems, untimely reporting, and a lack of consolidated views, stifling informed decision-making and innovation.
THE SOLVE:
As Meridian navigated these intricate landscapes, the symbiotic connection between its journey for collective empowerment and the imperative for streamlined governance, financial reporting and safety practices became evident, shaping a narrative of holistic transformation and sustainable prosperity.
THE IMPACT:
Reporting:
To create a robust reporting function to deliver real-time and exact business reporting data, we introduced and enabled the eight key value drivers of reporting. These drivers were focused on creating discipline, identifying opportunities for improvement and embedding new processes and technology. These drivers not only assist in providing standardisation but offer Meridian sustainability that will propel them into the future.
EHSS:
Through Stepping Up Safety, an integrated safety campaign, we created awareness around the 9 Life Saving Rules, we galvanised leadership and encouraged near-miss reporting to bring to life a safety-first culture. Notable wins include an increased safety awareness, employee engagement from leaders to front-line staff and enhanced productivity and operational stability due to a reduction in incidents.
The numbers don’t lie:
The campaign’s success marked the beginning of a safety-first culture that was lived by all employees, fostering an environment where everyone felt empowered to voice concerns and promptly report incidents and near-misses.
May 2023 – November 2023
TESTIMONIALS
Celio Gaspar Inguane
Mozambique | Hygiene and Safety Manager Transcargo
"I really want to thank you for this fantastic movement that the programme encouraged us to follow. The results are visible on the faces and attitudes of employees. We will continue with these movements and we are willing to support them."
Tafadzwa Ngirazi Celio
Zimbabwe | SHEQ Officer FSG
“This has been an excellent opportunity to improve the safety culture in our organisation through conscientising employees on the importance of safety through promoting a culture of identifying hazards and implementing their control measures. This is envisaged through our Life Saving Rules such as incident reporting that the goal of zero harm is achievable. The project has empowered employees across all levels that we are all safety leaders, and that safety is everyone’s responsibility.”