African mobile phone service providers win awards

MTN and Celtel, major mobile phone service providers in Africa, were honored at the Business in Africa Awards in London recently.

Co-hosted by the Commonwealth Business Council and "African Business" magazine, the awards highlight the growth and potential of the business landscape across Africa, rewarding excellence and world-class best practices.

"We believe that the business sector in Africa plays a crucial role in the realization of the African century, and the awards intend to recognize and pay tribute to world class African business leaders and enterprises at home and worldwide," said Omar Ben Yedder, associate group publisher of IC Publications, publisher of "African Business."

MTN received awards for "African Brand of the Year" and "African Business of the Year;" while Celtel, a subsidiary of Zain Group, was named "Best Telecoms Operator in Africa."

"MTN is proud of this award, which is an acknowledgement of the progress we have made in building our business and our brand over the years," said Nozipho January-Bardill, MTN group executive of corporate affairs. "It is a tribute to our leadership, our staff and all our stakeholders who participate in our business in various way."

The acceptance speech of Zain's chief commercial officer, Tito Alai, emphasized the company's 2011 goal of being a top-10 global mobile operator with 110 million customers.

"This award is an achievement that represents our belief in the African continent and the potential that exists. Together with our partners and customers, we are committed to building the African economic dream and developing telecommunications across the continent as no other telecom company has been able to do," Alai said.