When a product leaves Premium Foods Limited, someone has to be sure. Sure it's safe. Sure it meets the standard. Sure that if a regulator walks in tomorrow, everything holds up.

For the past several months, that someone has been Ebenezer Kwamena Adomako, newly promoted to Quality Assurance Manager after three years of building and strengthening the company's quality systems, first as its Quality Systems and Quality Assurance Supervisor, now as the person the whole function answers to.

It's a role built on judgment. And judgment isn't something you get from a lecture hall.

Ebenezer knows exactly where his came from.

Rewind back to 2019. Ebenezer is fresh out of the University of Cape Coast with a degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, and the PFS Apprenticeship Program has just placed him at Juaben Oil Mills. It's his first time seeing what he'd studied actually at work, and his first time seeing what the textbooks leave out.

Because here's what a food processing plant teaches you that a syllabus can't. "I learnt the importance of having a quality management system implemented as part of operations in a food industry," Ebenezer says, not as paperwork on a shelf, but as something woven into the daily running of the business.

He also saw the harder truth up close: "I learnt and experienced the basic challenges faced by most food industries in trying to meet regulatory standards without the availability of expertise and adequate resources." Businesses that fully intended to meet the standard but lacked the specialists or the budget to chase it.

And out of that came the skill that has defined his career since. "I also learnt how best to establish an effective Health and Safety system taking an industry's available resources into account." Systems built for the organization you actually have, not the one a manual assumes.

"Having left school in pursuit of great on-the-job experience, this program did beyond that and has helped me in identifying some great opportunities in the food industry," he says.

Ebenezer stayed on at Juaben after the apprenticeship ended. Then came Premium Foods Limited, another PFS client, and the steady work of turning what he'd learned into systems other people could rely on.

Which brings us back to today, and to a detail we find quietly satisfying: the quality standards Ebenezer once studied as an apprentice are now standards he writes, enforces, and answers for. He didn't just pass through the system. He became it.

Seven years into this work, Africa's food industry doesn't just need more graduates. It needs more people who've had the chance to turn knowledge into judgment. That chance is what an apprenticeship at PFS is.

Our volunteer spotlight series continues, and this week, we're featuring Asif Abass, Managing Director at Bühler in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, whose 15 years in rice are quietly reshaping how millers across Africa do their work.

For Asif, rice isn't just an industry. It's a craft he's spent fifteen years learning, and one he's now found a meaningful way to give back to.

Based in Ho Chi Minh City as Managing Director at Bühler, Asif has built a career around the deep technical knowledge that turns raw paddy into high-quality milled rice, a chain that, when done well, can transform the economics of an entire food business. When the opportunity came to share that expertise with food entrepreneurs through Partners In Food Solutions, the appeal was simple.

"I've worked in the rice industry for about 15 years, so over time I've built up a lot of practical experience. Volunteering with PFS felt like a good opportunity to share that knowledge in a way that could really help others. For me, it was a chance to give back and support businesses in a practical and meaningful way."

That phrase, practical and meaningful, captures something essential about how Asif shows up to the work. His engagements aren't abstract. They produce things you can hold in your hands, point to on a factory floor, or measure on a yield report.

With Sajo Farms and Rice Mills in Nigeria, Asif helped develop quality control standards for paddy purchase, designing standard operating procedures for arrival and inspection, lab reporting, and testing. These are the kinds of foundational systems that determine whether a mill's quality is consistent or chaotic, whether it can negotiate from a position of strength with suppliers, and whether it can grow.

He's also contributed to a resource that will reach far beyond any one project, helping PFS develop customized training materials on rice milling best practices, designed to support rice milling clients across the network for years to come.

And with Fursa Foods, also in Nigeria, Asif tackled one of the most consequential metrics in the rice business: head rice yield. The project's goal, increasing yield from 53% to 60%, sounds modest on paper. In practice, those seven percentage points represent significant additional revenue, less waste, and a more competitive business.

This is what fifteen years of expertise looks like when it crosses continents.

But ask Asif what's stayed with him most through the work, and the answer goes beyond technical wins.

"What stood out most to me was seeing that the advice and training actually led to real improvements. It was very rewarding to see partners take the recommendations seriously and upgrade their rice milling facilities. That kind of result gives a lot of satisfaction."

There's something powerful about that loop, expertise shared, advice taken, change implemented. It's also what keeps him engaged.

"My experience can make a real difference. When you see people learn something useful, apply it, and improve their business, it gives you a strong sense of purpose. That is something I find very motivating."

That sense of purpose connects to a broader excitement about Africa's food sector, a sector Asif sees as full of possibility.

"There is so much potential in the food sector, and it is inspiring to be able to contribute by sharing knowledge and supporting improvement in quality, efficiency, and operations."

It's a perspective that captures why the PFS volunteer model works so well in practice. The continent doesn't lack talent or ambition. What it benefits from is access, to the kind of specialized, hard-won expertise that takes a career to build.

Asif is one of many volunteers helping bring that access closer. Project by project. Mill by mill. Yield point by yield point.

And in doing so, he's helping prove something simple but powerful: when experience crosses continents, food businesses don't just improve. They rise.

Most conversations about scaling a food business start with the technical: equipment, processes, food safety, supply chains. All essential. But ask anyone who has actually built or grown a company, and they'll tell you the harder challenges usually live somewhere else, in how teams are structured, how leaders make decisions, how culture holds together as a business expands.

That's the territory Katrina Blackwell knows well. And it's the territory she's been helping food businesses across Africa navigate.

"I was initially inspired to volunteer with PFS because I'm a values-driven person," she says. "I've always believed that the work I do should connect to something bigger something that helps enrich the lives of others."

Based in Tennessee and serving as Organizational Change Manager at Ardent Mills, Katrina brings expertise that doesn't always show up in technical project briefs but matters profoundly to the businesses PFS supports, the human side of growth. Helping organizations adapt. Helping leaders make decisions. Helping teams move forward together.

It's the kind of expertise that can be hard to come by, especially for early-stage food entrepreneurs navigating fast-moving change. And Katrina has put it to use across a range of engagements, supporting Powerfine in Zambia as they rethought their staffing structure, working with Souk Farm to review and implement KPIs that translate strategy into day-to-day performance, and mentoring staff at Umoyo, also in Zambia, on the HR challenges that come with growing a team.

Different projects. Different geographies. The same underlying need: helping food businesses build the people-side foundations to grow well.

But ask Katrina what's stayed with her most through the work, and the answer isn't about frameworks or deliverables. It's about the people on the other side of the screen.

"The individuals and organizations PFS connects us with are incredibly resourceful and dedicated. Working alongside them has been impactful, not just professionally, but personally. They make me want to be a better person, a more grateful person, and a more giving person."

That two-way exchange, where the volunteer is changed as much as the volunteered-for, is something Katrina has come to value deeply. It's also what keeps her coming back.

"I value the opportunity to share my expertise, but I also appreciate being stretched into areas I might not otherwise experience. It's a genuine growth opportunity for me professionally, and it's deeply rewarding. It feels good to know I'm contributing expertise that may not otherwise be accessible to PFS partners."

And that's true. Because for many of the food businesses PFS supports, access to specialized expertise, change management, organizational design, leadership development, isn't a given. It's often a gap that can quietly slow down growth, no matter how strong the product or the team. Katrina's contributions help close that gap.

What excites Katrina most is the ripple effect. These businesses aren’t just producing food.

"What excites me most about supporting food businesses across Africa is the broader impact. These entrepreneurs aren't just providing food, they're creating jobs, strengthening local economies, and expanding access in communities where opportunities can be limited. Being even a small part of that is something I don't take lightly."

It's a perspective that captures why the PFS model works. Volunteers like Katrina aren't just solving problems, they're investing in the kind of long-term capacity that lifts whole communities.

"PFS acts as an important bridge," she reflects, "between the people who have expertise to offer and the deserving organizations seeking support."

That bridge is built one volunteer at a time. And Katrina, with her conviction and willingness to keep showing up, is helping make it stronger.

Our Global Volunteer Month spotlight series continues and this week, we're turning the lens on Sean Griswold, Senior Manager at The J.M. Smucker Co., a volunteer whose expertise is quietly making food businesses across Africa stronger.

Some people volunteer out of obligation. Sean volunteers because it just makes sense.

"When the needs of an organization match what you're uniquely equipped to contribute, it creates a powerful opportunity to make a real difference."

For Sean, that match was Partners In Food Solutions. And two years and nine projects later, the fit still feels right.

It's not hard to see why PFS came calling. Sean carries over 15 years of experience across food manufacturing and quality assurance, from the specifics of peanut processing and supplier management to the broader discipline of auditing diverse food production systems. That kind of range is rare. But what makes Sean genuinely valuable isn't just the depth of what he knows. It's what he does with it.

Right now, Sean is juggling not one but two active projects with PFS, and both reflect the same instinct: meet people where they are and leave them better equipped than you found them. One of those projects involves supporting the review and delivery of food safety training, helping client teams move from understanding concepts to actually applying them under real-world conditions. Technically grounded. Practically useful.

And that kind of foundation has a way of multiplying. Strong training rarely stays contained to a single project, it ripples outward, building the kind of capability that shows up again and again long after any one engagement ends.

That ripple effect is something Sean has come to understand intimately through his work with PFS teams across geographies. Collaborating closely with technical leads, he's helped shape resources designed to scale knowledge where it's needed most. And in doing so, he's landed on a truth that many experienced mentors eventually discover: "Some challenges are universal while others are completely unique."

It's that tension, familiar fundamentals meeting unfamiliar contexts, that keeps the work interesting. And honest.

But ask Sean what keeps him coming back, and the answer isn't about systems or frameworks. It's simpler than that.

"The people are what make it so rewarding," he says, "especially the clients who are eager and appreciative of the support."

There's something about that eagerness, the energy of someone who genuinely wants to learn and grow, that's hard to replicate in any other setting. It's what turns a volunteer engagement into something that feels less like giving and more like a two-way exchange.

"It's energizing to connect talented, passionate professionals with solutions that can accelerate their growth."

And that energy, when channeled well, reaches further than any single business. It strengthens supply chains, raises standards, and quietly makes food systems more resilient, one well-trained team at a time.

Because real impact was never just about solving the problem in front of you. It's about leaving people equipped to solve the next one on their own.

Our Global Volunteer Month spotlight series continues and this week, we're turning the lens on Sean Griswold, Senior Manager at The J.M. Smucker Co., a volunteer whose expertise is quietly making food businesses across Africa stronger.

Some people volunteer out of obligation. Sean volunteers because it just makes sense.

"When the needs of an organization match what you're uniquely equipped to contribute, it creates a powerful opportunity to make a real difference."

For Sean, that match was Partners In Food Solutions. And two years and nine projects later, the fit still feels right.

It's not hard to see why PFS came calling. Sean carries over 15 years of experience across food manufacturing and quality assurance, from the specifics of peanut processing and supplier management to the broader discipline of auditing diverse food production systems. That kind of range is rare. But what makes Sean genuinely valuable isn't just the depth of what he knows. It's what he does with it.

Right now, Sean is juggling not one but two active projects with PFS, and both reflect the same instinct: meet people where they are and leave them better equipped than you found them. One of those projects involves supporting the review and delivery of food safety training, helping client teams move from understanding concepts to actually applying them under real-world conditions. Technically grounded. Practically useful.

And that kind of foundation has a way of multiplying. Strong training rarely stays contained to a single project, it ripples outward, building the kind of capability that shows up again and again long after any one engagement ends.

That ripple effect is something Sean has come to understand intimately through his work with PFS teams across geographies. Collaborating closely with technical leads, he's helped shape resources designed to scale knowledge where it's needed most. And in doing so, he's landed on a truth that many experienced mentors eventually discover: "Some challenges are universal while others are completely unique."

It's that tension, familiar fundamentals meeting unfamiliar contexts, that keeps the work interesting. And honest.

But ask Sean what keeps him coming back, and the answer isn't about systems or frameworks. It's simpler than that.

"The people are what make it so rewarding," he says, "especially the clients who are eager and appreciative of the support."

There's something about that eagerness, the energy of someone who genuinely wants to learn and grow, that's hard to replicate in any other setting. It's what turns a volunteer engagement into something that feels less like giving and more like a two-way exchange.

"It's energizing to connect talented, passionate professionals with solutions that can accelerate their growth."

And that energy, when channeled well, reaches further than any single business. It strengthens supply chains, raises standards, and quietly makes food systems more resilient, one well-trained team at a time.

Because real impact was never just about solving the problem in front of you. It's about leaving people equipped to solve the next one on their own.