Becoming the next “Havard” of the African continent, the new challenge !

The information was already known. Declared winners of the ECOWAS Prize (Economic Community of West African States), respectively in categories B and C, the Ecole Supérieure des Affaires (ESA) and the Cabinet AEC (Audit Expertise Comptable) of Dr Charles Birrégah , officially received this Thursday, August 31, 2023 in Lomé, their distinction from the hands of the officials of the Director of Industry of the ECOWAS Commission, Lassané Kaboré and the President of the HAUQE (High Authority for Quality and the Environment) , Laré Arzouma Botré, who represented the Minister of Commerce of Togo. This was during the opening ceremony of the 8th edition of the meeting of the ECOWAS Community Committee for the Compliance Assessment of the ECOWAS Commission.

To achieve this consecration in category B with the 1st ECOWAS Quality Excellence Award, it was necessary for ESA to distinguish itself through the quality training offered to its learners and the implementation of the Quality Management System. (SMQ). These steps also led to ISO 9001 version 2015 and ISO 21001 version 2018 certification. competed during this 2nd edition of these awards, in category C, by its strict observance of the published standards, was also revealed 1st ECOWAS Quality Excellence Award.

Something which, according to the President of Industry of the ECOWAS Commission, leads to recognize that the progenitor of these two structures is committed to quality and is fully committed to it in order to meet the standards of known references in terms of regional, continental and global.

Reacting to these two sub-regional quality distinctions, Dr. Charles Birrégah, very happy with the recognition of more than ten years of self-sacrifice, investment (given quality is an expensive process) and hard work of all his collaborators, said he was proud of the work accomplished and intends to remain in the same dynamic ; that of continuing by “making quality a management imperative”. It is through these distinctions, an "additional source of motivation" and to continue to do more, and "reinforce the achievements". Through these emotional words from Dr. Charles Birregah, we can always make a strong commitment towards an even better future. And this best comes through a new challenge that the Founder of the ESA and the AEC firm is launching. That of making ESA, “the African Havard”. In terms of challenges, he intends, together with his collaborators, to continue to "Compete, to gauge ourselves, to put in place other quality management systems" and also, given that there are plenty of standards, to implement everything “so that the Ecole Supérieure des Businesses is a reference at the same level as the Grandes écoles like Havard”.

In the same dynamic as the founder of the ESA and the AEC firm, Mr. Kaboré declared having found in him, "someone who is committed to the quality approach" and who has registered his companies "on the right line of all actions or steps undertaken by the Togolese State to establish the quality approach at the national level. Among other criteria which are evaluated and which have helped these two structures of Togo to make the difference in their distinct categories, he evoked the reception, the service, the cleanliness, the hygiene, the conformity of content, in short all the criteria already established by the ISO standard…

Were present at this ceremony which was followed in the afternoon of this Thursday, August 31, 2023, by a visit to the sites hosting ESA and the AEC Cabinet, the Representative of UNIDO (United Nations Organization for Industrial Development), the Representative of the Organization Committee of the Togolese Quality Prize, customers and partners of the two winning Togolese structures (ESA and Cabinet AEC).

A visit to the facilities which supports the opinion of the Jury

The visit led successively to the premises of Cabinet AEC in the heart of Lomé, then to the ESA campuses in Agoè and Super Taco. Visits which allowed participants to the 8th edition of the ECOWAS Community meeting for the evaluation of Conformity, the ECOWAS Commission to see firsthand that the members of the jury of the awards won by the two Togolese structures do not are not deceived by awarding them these distinctions. Lassané Kaboré and Mehefolo Kamara, Senior Technical Advisor Competitiveness and Quality Infrastructure for West Africa, said they were comforted by what they were able to see.

They also returned to the different criteria and the stages of the process which led to the consecration of the ESA and the AEC firm, as established for this ECOWAS Quality Excellence Award competition.
M.G / T228