The Etisalat Group was named Investor of the Year at the
annual African Business Awards which took place in London.
This accolade recognizes over 12 years of active
participation in eleven African markets and continuous investment in expansion
and service development.
Etisalat began its
international expansion programme in 1999 partnering with the Tanzanian
government to form Zantel. Since then, Etisalat has grown across East, West and
North Africa covering the continent’s most exciting and fastest growing
markets.
Today Etisalat’s networks are able to offer services to a
population of over 400 million people through its operations in Benin, Burkina
Faso, Central African Republic, Egypt, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria,
Sudan, Tanzania, and Togo.
We are delighted to receive this award which recognizes
the great efforts of all of our teams across Africa. The Etisalat Group is a
long-term and patient investor,” said Ahmed bin Ali, group senior vice
president Corporate Communications, Etisalat.
We believe that the future offers great potential,
especially in Africa, and we are putting in place the infrastructure and
resources to ensure that we are able to help the continent to realize
sustainable growth and prosperity,” Ali added.
African Business
magazine felt that Etisalat’s continued commitment to the continent and a long
term investment approach is having a considerable impact in all the countries
they have penetrated, North, East and West Africa. Their significant
investments are paying dividends for Etisalat. Their bold and visionary
approach is improving the telecommunications landscape and setting new
benchmarks in their countries of operation.
Etisalat’s investments and infrastructure in Africa goes
beyond voice services. They also include next-generation broadband technologies
which are fundamental drivers of economic growth in the current digital era.
In Sudan, Etisalat has now deployed over 3,000km of fiber optics in the main cities and across the
country. This provides high speed broadband connectivity for businesses,
schools and government. This is supported by the company’s Landing Station at
Port Sudan, which connects Sudan directly to the international cable routes
providing affordable broadband to the surrounding countries. In Nigeria,
Etisalat will shortly roll-out 3G, whilst CDMA is offered in Tanzania and
BlackBerry services are supported in West Africa.
Etisalat is also supporting other African markets such as
Kenya, and has partnered with the government to deploy the TEAMS cable. This
provides affordable and reliable broadband access for Kenya and its surrounding
countries enabling local businesses to participate fully in the global
marketplace offering services such as outsourcing and contact centre support.
The African Business Awards is organized by IC Events and
the Commonwealth Business Council and is the key annual event for the African
business world. The judging is undertaken by a distinguished panel of business
experts covering all the regions of Africa who have been carefully chosen for
their experience, business acumen and expertise.
By TelecomLead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
