Dozie, Ndukwe honoured @ Africa Business awards

Chairman, MTN Nigeria Mr. Pascal Dozie and the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe were among winners in the just concluded Africa Business Awards 2009 held in the United Kingdom (UK).

Also listed among other winners included Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, and Maria Ramos of South Africa, thus bring the number of African winners in the award to four, while the nation of Mauritius, and Lagos State Government of Nigeria, were also the only governments crowned at the occasion.

The Africa Business Awards, was part of the events during the just concluded the Commonwealth Business Council in London, hosted by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), in collaboration with IC Publications.

The awards, according to the organizers, are aimed at celebrating African individuals and businesses whose achievements are changing the perception of Africa’s potentials in domestic and international markets. It is also designed to celebrate their excellence and positive impacts within their industry as well as for their contributions towards the development of the continent.

Speaking at the event, Director General, CBC, Dr. Mohan Kaul, said in his address that the award is an opportunity to promote confidence and highlight the numerous successes and achievements of businesses and business people on the African continent.

“By holding the awards alongside our prestigious G8 Africa Business Forum, here in London, we hope to ensure that the African Business achievements are known, not only to Africans, but to the world at large,” he said. However, Ndukwe was honoured with the award of “Outstanding Contributions in Public Office,” while Mr. Pascal Dozie received the “Lifetime Achievement Award.” Mr. Ramaphosa, Executive Chairman, Shanduka Group, South Africa, received the “Business Leader of the Year” award whereas the Group Chief Executive Officer of ABSA Group, South Africa, Mrs. Ramos, was honoured with the “Outstanding Business Woman of the Year” award. Mr. Pascal Dozie was crowned for his successful foray in business spanning many years as a banker and boardroom supremo.

The citation read by the organizers about Ndukwe, recounted his impressive performance as Nigeria’s telecom regulator who has put Nigeria in the global map as one of the fastest telecom growing countries in the world.

It described the growth witnessed in Nigeria’s telecom industry from less than 400,000 by 2001 to about 67 Million in 2009, as a revolution that has made Africa proud.“The Board of Directors of the Organizing  Committee decided to honour you with this special recognition award for your achievement in public office and for your contributions to the telecommunication sector in Nigeria and the transformational role in creating a framework to improve service delivery through public sector reform,” it said.

Also at the event, the Island of Mauritius, was honoured with the award for “Tourism Destination of the Year”, while Nigeria’s Lagos State Government received the award for “Good Corporate Governance.”

Corporate organizations in the continent who won awards at the event include; Goldman Sachs (Best Corporate Citizenship/Social Responsibility), Ecobank (African Business of the Year), Diageo (Best Global Business in Africa), MTN (Telecoms Company of the Year) and Kenya Airways (Airline of the Year).

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