The Ghana Platinum Excellence Awards
A national tribute to the businesses whose endurance, resilience, and vision have shaped Ghana's commercial history — timed to coincide with Ghana's 70th Independence Anniversary, March 2027.
ABOUT THE AWARD Ghana's economic story is often told through the lens of policy, government, and macroeconomic milestones. Rarely is it told through the lens of the businesses that quietly persisted through colonial rule, independence, structural adjustment, currency redenomination’s, coups, and market liberalization — and are still standing today. The Ghana Platinum Excellence Award exists to correct that omission. As Ghana marks 70 years of independence in March 2027, this initiative identifies, verifies, and honours businesses across sectors with the longest continuously operating histories in the country. These are the enterprises that employed Ghanaians before Ghana had a national currency of its own, that survived economic transitions most governments did not, and that represent an unbroken thread of indigenous and long-settled commercial enterprise from pre-independence Ghana to the present day. This is not simply an awards ceremony. It is an act of institutional memory — a permanent, verified public record of Ghana's oldest surviving businesses, and a tribute to the founders, families, and successors who kept them alive.
WHY THIS MATTERS Ghana's private commercial history is undocumented. Unlike national political history, the history of Ghana's businesses — who built them, when, and how they survived — exists mostly in oral memory and scattered archives. This Award creates a verified, lasting record. Longevity is an under recognised form of excellence. Ghana celebrates innovation, growth, and scale. It rarely celebrates endurance — the discipline of a business staying alive, relevant, and Ghanaian-run across generations and economic cycles. Succession is a national economic issue. Many of Ghana's oldest companies are family enterprises now navigating the transition from founding generation to second, third, or fourth generation leadership. Recognizing these businesses publicly reinforces the importance of succession planning as an economic priority, not just a family matter. The 70th independence anniversary is a natural moment. A country's economic sovereignty is measured not only in political independence but in the survival and growth of its private enterprise. Honoring Ghana's oldest companies alongside Ghana@70 draws a direct line between nationhood and enterprise.
AWARD CATEGORIES The Ghana Platinum Excellences Award recognizes verified longevity across ten categories, reflecting the sectors that have shaped Ghana's economy: 1. Banking & Financial Services 2. Insurance 3. Manufacturing 4. Agro-Processing 5. Construction & Real Estate 6. Oil, Energy & Petroleum 7. Flour Milling & Food Production 8. Transport & Logistics 9. Retail & Trading 10. Family Enterprise & Indigenous Business Legacy Each category will recognize the single oldest verified company operating continuously in that sector, alongside a shortlist of runners-up whose histories will also be documented and published. (A cross-cutting "Overall Oldest Company in Ghana" honour will be awarded independent of sector.) ELIGIBILITY & VERIFICATION Award integrity rests on verified operating history, not self-reported claims. To be considered, a company must: Demonstrate continuous operation in Ghana under a documented founding date, supported by at least two independent forms of evidence (e.g. incorporation records, Registrar General's Department filings, contemporaneous newspaper archives, chieftaincy or trade association records, family/company archives). Currently be an active, operating entity — not a dissolved or dormant business being honoured posthumously. Consent to public verification and inclusion in the Award's published historical record. Verification is conducted by an independent research and adjudication panel prior to any public shortlisting. No company self-nominates its way onto the shortlist without documentary review. (This is the same verification standard used to identify the initial researched shortlist, including companies such as Melcom, Kasapreko, Panbros Salt, De Simone Group, Mohinani Group, Tobinco, Jospong Group, Despite Group, Standard Chartered, Irani Brothers, and Enterprise Insurance — spanning banking, insurance, construction, manufacturing, agro processing, oil and energy, milling, transport, and family enterprise.) THE LEGACY 100 CLUB Beyond the Award itself, verified honorees are inducted into the Legacy 100 Club — a standing membership institution for Ghana's oldest and most enduring companies. Where the Award is a moment of recognition, the Legacy 100 Club is a permanent home. Membership is structured across four tiers reflecting depth of institutional history: Centurion: Companies with 100+ years of continuous operation Independence Companies Founders’: Companies founded in the immediate pre- and post-independence era. Independence: Companies founded in the decades following 1957 that have achieved multigenerational continuity. Heritage Companies with significant, verified long-term operating histories that anchor a sector or region. Membership benefits include convening at an annual Legacy assembly, inclusion in the published historical archive, cross-company mentorship on succession and governance, and access to a growing peer network of Ghana's most enduring enterprises. Looking ahead: The Legacy 100 Club has a phased roadmap for regional expansion across West Africa, envisioned as the Legacy 500 Club by 2030 — extending the same verification standard and recognition model to enduring businesses across the ECOWAS region, anchored by Regional Advisory Councils and Country Chapters.
HOW TO NOMINATE 1. Submit a nomination using the form below, providing the company name, sector, founding date, and any supporting documentation available. 2. Verification review — the research panel independently verifies the claimed history using company, government, and archival records. 3. Shortlisting — verified nominees are shortlisted by category and published for public visibility. 4. Recognition — shortlisted and winning companies are honoured at the Ghana@70 Award Ceremony and inducted into the Legacy 100 Club. Nominations may be submitted by the company itself, employees, family members, industry associations, or members of the public with credible knowledge of a company's history. GOVERNANCE The Ghana Platinum Excellence Award and the Legacy 100 Club are convened under an independent governance structure to protect the credibility of the verification process. Core leadership roles span programme direction, research and verification, partnerships, communications, ceremony production, finance, and legal/governance oversight — supported by an advisory board drawn from business, academia, and media. Guest of Honour (proposed) H.E. President John Dramani Mahama, in recognition of the Award's alignment with Ghana's 70th Independence Anniversary.
MEDIA & PARTNERS The Ghana Platinum Excellence Award is supported by a media partnership strategy engaging Ghana's leading broadcast and news platforms, including GBC, EIB network, Class Media, Max TV, Ignite Media Group, BF&T, Joy FM, Citi FM, and Peace FM, to ensure the Award's research and honorees reach a national audience. Sponsorship tiers are available for corporate and institutional partners seeking to align with a nationally significant, historically grounded initiative timed to Ghana@70. [View sponsorship packages → ]
