Blooms The Chemist held its 2019 partners conference in Africa last month.
The theme this year was leadership and culture. It involved “first class” presentations from professional speakers who challenged conference delegates to become better leaders and socially responsible.
“We’re working hard to have a positive impact on society,” Blooms GM Merchandise and Marketing Pamela Bishop said.
The topic of corporate social responsibility (CSR) was prevalent throughout the conference. Delegates learnt about a CSR initiative undertaken by Blooms in partnership with The Butterfly Tree charity.
“We’re working on a more comprehensive CSR program that will enable us to support various important initiatives in our local communities,” Ms Bishop said.
“We’re proud of our efforts so far, having already contributed up to $1 million to local charitable organisations.”
One of the major initiatives discussed at the conference was the building of a new maternity ward and a women’s shelter in the village of Simonga in Livingstone, Zambia.
Blooms says the new maternity ward will save lives by encouraging women to safely deliver their babies there, and reduce the risk of cross-infection and contamination.
Conference delegates had the opportunity to witness the official opening of the maternity ward, while visiting the local community and school.
“Our conference programs have been designed to provide ongoing education and to understand different markets, so we can take the best-practice learnings back to our organisation,” Blooms CEO Phil Smith said.
