Etisalat Named African Investor Of the Year 2010-11

12 Years of Commitment to Continent Recognised
The Etisalat Group was named “Investor of the Year” at the annual ‘African Business Awards’ which took place in London yesterday evening. This accolade recognizes over 12 years of active participation in eleven African markets and continuous investment in expansion and service development.
The event was co-hosted by African Business magazine and the CBC, and sponsored by Ecobank and the Bank of Industry.
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.
Ahmed bin Ali, Group Senior Vice President Corporate Communications said: “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. 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.”
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.
Mr. Omar Ben Yedder, Associate Group Publisher of African Business magazine, the organiser of the event said: “All nominated individuals and companies were particularly strong, and the standard keeps getting higher year after year. The attendance of Ministers as well as other dignitaries from the world over shows the interest Africa is generating, and we, as a Continent, are starting to make headlines for all the right reasons.”
Dr. Mohan Kaul, CEO of the Commonwealth Business Council, stressed the importance of these Awards: “We have been trying to promote over the years a strong partnership between the public and private sectors and we are happy to see the fruits of our labour being achieved, with some world class African businesses being recognised today.”
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.