Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence

Winners of the 2023 Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence

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 October 30, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. EST at the State Department.  The 2023 ACE categories are Innovation, Women’s Economic Security, and Sustainable Supply Chains. 

This year commemorates the Award for Corporate Excellence’s 24th year.  Established in 1999, the ACE recognizes the crucial role U.S. companies are playing in elevating higher standards of business conduct.  Together, these companies are leading the way in addressing some of our greatest global challenges.   

The 2023 Award Recipients: 

ACE Winner in Innovation

Kentegra Biotechnology in Kenya combines pioneering technology, engineering, and agriculture to produce pyrethrum.  This organic, climate change-resistant crop is used to produce natural pesticides that are contributing to a greener, healthier world while also supporting thousands of smallholder farmers in East Africa.  

ACE Winners in Women’s Economic Security:

Avertra Corp., a medium-sized technology company with a large employee base in Jordan, ensures an equitable and inclusive workplace by intentionally offering opportunities for women to develop, manage, lead, and succeed through its own training center and in eliminating the requirement of formal education as a barrier for advancement.  

Google Poland is developing and recruiting women for management and leadership positions.  The company works with young women in Poland to support their career growth in STEM fields by promoting initiatives for young girls and funding a competition challenging other companies to increase female representation in their ranks.  Moreover, Google Poland is providing upskilling programs for women refugees from Ukraine and is an example of business leadership in response to the consequences of illegal Russian aggression. 

ACE Winners in Sustainable Supply Chains:

Parsyl Inc, is a medium-sized cold chain risk management enterprise working globally and with a special focus in Côte d’Ivoire and other African countries.  The company has deployed more than 80,000 temperature sensors throughout supply chains in Africa, to ensure better monitoring and distribution of perishable foods, vaccines, and other essential goods.  

Ampersand USA Inc. has onshored production of electric motorbike components, including batteries, to Rwanda. This ensures more of Ampersand’s motorbike taxis stay charged and on the streets of the capital, Kigali.  Their decision to produce electric motorbikes in Rwanda was the big bang the continent needed to begin and grow its own electric vehicle industry, inspiring a sustainable future.