Nestlé has appointed Côte d’Ivoire’s Joëlle Abega-Oyouomi as the new factory manager in Central and West Africa. She is the first-ever female factory manager to be appointed in Nestlé Central and West Africa.
Joëlle joined Nestlé as a Research Associate nearly 20 years ago, she had high ambitions for her career – but managing one of the world’s largest bouillon producing factories in Africa was not quite on her radar at that time.
“I was young, hopeful and eager to learn. I had a narrow vision of where I could end up in my career, but Nestlé prepared me for much more than I expected,” said Jöelle.
Earlier this year, she was appointed as the first African woman to head a Nestlé factory in Central and West Africa, challenging prevalent notions about the traditionally male-dominated manufacturing sector. Joëlle heads the Yopougon factory in Côte d’Ivoire, which is the third largest Nestlé factory in the region. Here, MAGGI cubes and seasonings are produced to serve the Central and West Africa region – the largest bouillon market for Nestlé in the world, with over 120 million MAGGI bouillons sold daily.
Educated as an engineer in food technology, Joëlle joined Nestlé in 2001, working on product development at the Research and Development (R&D) Center in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. She went on to gain international research and development experience at the R&D Center in Shanghai, China, and at the Nestlé Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, between 2003 and 2009.
She returned to Côte d’Ivoire as R&D Product Development Manager in 2009, then moved to Ghana as the Central and West Africa (CWA) Regional Manufacturing Services Manager in 2015. A year later, Joëlle was appointed as Head of R&D Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire where she helped to transform the center’s dairy business for healthy cereal solutions, drive its confectionery business with cocoa plant science, and refocus the facility’s commitment to bringing affordable nutrition to African consumers, before taking up her current position.
“Out of my 19 years with Nestlé, 17 were dedicated to innovating in R&D,” said Jöelle. “I am happy to have this new management opportunity to bring me out of my comfort zone and help me grow and face new challenges, while still contributing to support our company’s growth in the region. It is also a good chance for me to use new skills that will complement those I previously developed. In doing this job that I love, I also hope that I inspire other young African women to realize that all dreams are attainable.”
For young women like Abigail, a trainee engineer at Nestlé’s Technical Training Centre in Nigeria, Joëlle’s appointment is very encouraging.
“It is exciting to see more and more women in leadership positions, especially in fields like engineering, where women traditionally do not see themselves climbing up the ladder,” explained Abigail. “I feel so motivated and determined to work hard and benefit from any opportunities, without gender bias.”
Mauricio Alarcón, CEO of Nestlé Central and West Africa Ltd., stated: “We believe that diversity is key to Nestlé’s growth. Empowering women and enhancing gender balance in our company enables us to serve our consumers better.
“We are fully dedicated to empowering more women to take roles in technical and management sectors, so that we can have many more ‘Joëlles’ in the future. It is the smart and right thing to do – for our company and for society,” he added.
