Sowah nominated for telecom award

TELECOMS

By Nana Appiah Acquaye, Accra, Ghana

The Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Ghana, Phillip Sowah, has been nominated for this year’s Mobile World Ghana Telecom Awards for the second time. Sowah was named CEO of the Year at last year’s awards. He faces stiff competition this year, from Kyle Whitehill of Vodafone, Michael Ikpoki of MTN and  Carlos Caceres of Tigo Ghana.

The 2nd Mobile World Ghana Telecom Awards comes off this weekend at the prestigious Holiday Inn in Accra. The annual event, which recognises the achievements of companies in Ghana's Telecom & ICT sector, is fast becoming the most talked about event in Ghana's technology space.  This year’s finalists’ list features the most influential players in Ghana’s telecoms sector.

There are 17 competitive awards, and four special awards at stake in the award scheme organized by Instinct Wave Limited, publishers of Mobile World Magazine.

In a statement the publisher  of  Mobile World Magazine, Akin Napthal noted how Ghana's Telecom &ICT sector continues to play a very important and strategic role in the development of Ghana's economy, investing millions of dollars in infrastructure, training, and the employment of many Ghanaians all over the country. “It is important these companies are recognized for their achievements and continued commitment to the development of Ghana,” he said.

Some of the most contested awards at stake include CEO of the year, Telecom Operator of the year, Telecom Brand of the year and Best CSR initiative of the year.

Market Leader MTN comes to this year’s award as the Telecom Operator of the Year and holders of the CSR initiative of the year; Vodafone comes as the Telecom Brand of the year, and Airtel comes as the Customer Service of the Year.

“The likes of Tigo and MTN have also launched fantastic value added services, which are all being considered for awards,” the statement said.

It is also expected that veteran Ghanaian Technologist and entrepreneur Herman Chinnery-Hesse will receive a special recognition award for his many achievements in the software business, as well his mentoring of many software developers in Ghana.

Other companies competing for awards include GT Bank, Zipnet, Busy Internet, RLG and many others.