ARISE IIP, the pan-African developer and operator of world-class industrial parks won the Reuters Sustainability Pioneer Award at the 14th Responsible Business Awards hosted by Reuters Events. The announcement was made at a ceremony in London where over 280 finalists from all over the world came together to celebrate where sustainable excellence of business. ARISE IIP was also a finalist for the Circular Transition Award.

Responsible Business Awards are a world-renowned celebration of strategies and organisations that are truly challenging the status quo of business and transforming the world around them for a more purpose-driven, sustainable future for all. With over 700 applications coming from 51 countries, Arise IIP was selected by an independent panel of 25 expert judges from all over the globe based on the innovation, impact and scalability of their work.

This year the Reuters Sustainability Pioneer Award recognizes the Garment Training Center located in the Glo-Djigbe Industrial Zone (GDIZ), the industrial park built by ARISE IIP close to Cotonou in Benin. 500 young people are receiving on-the-job training at this ambitious textile park equipped with state-of-the-art technology, delivering exceptional quality and high productivity.

The judges said of ARISE IIP achievement: "ARISE's work fully embodies the term 'pioneer' in the way they are working. They are designing an industry with equity and people's livelihoods at its core, and they've created this remarkable, replicable model, starting in Benin, which is scalable to other parts in Africa, and even to other parts of the world. Incredible innovation and scalability, meeting multiple SDG goals through one pilot business and replicable into a human centered industry."

Ramakrishnan Janarthanan, Chief Operating Officer of ARISE IIP textile projects: "We are very proud of this award which rewards all our efforts over the past years. Based on 4 key principles - traceability, circularity, sustainability and skilling - the model we have designed in Benin aims to be replicated in other African countries, a continent that has all assets to play a growing role in the textile industry in the coming years."