Etisalat / IHS Wins ‘African Telecoms Deal of the Year 2014’’ At IJ Global Awards

Nigeria’s fastest growing and most innovative telecommunications operator, Etisalat, has emerged winner of the ‘African Telecoms Deal of the Year 2014’ at the IJGlobal Europe & Africa Award (Euromoney/Project Finance Magazine Awards) in London last week. This deal, the first by a major GSM operator in Nigeria was announced in August 2014 and is part of Etisalat’s broader strategy to drive improvements in the quality of its network and to accelerate the roll out of 2G and 3G coverage and new services to its customers.

Responding after receiving the award at the presentation dinner, Head of Strategy and Business Development, Etisalat Nigeria Mr. Seun Oshitade expressed appreciation to the organizers of the IJ Global Awards as well as the partners to the deal. He said, “This award recognizes our continuous strategy to increase the coverage and capacity of our network which is already rated number 1 for quality of service by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC).

Our partnership with IHS for the transaction which is being celebrated at this award ceremony is designed to promote network sharing, ensure higher quality, sustain reliable mobile services, lower overall costs and also promote a cleaner environment through reduced diesel usage and increased investments in alternative energy solutions.”

Other key stakeholders who contributed to the success of the deal include financial advisers, Stanbic Bank and legal advisers, Norton Rose. Representatives from these organisations were at the event to join Etisalat in receiving the award at the ceremony held at the Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London.

IJGlobal Editor Sarah Tame, and Deputy Editor Jon Whiteaker while presenting the awards commended all the winners for the market-leading transactions in their different sectors.

The IJGlobal Awards is organized by the Infrastructure Journal and Project Finance Magazine, a publication of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. Over 500 market professionals attended the ceremony, which recognises excellence, achievement and innovation in energy and infrastructure finance.

The ‘African Telecoms deal of the year’ award complements other titles that Etisalat Nigeria has won in just six years of operations in Nigeria. Awards which include ‘African Telecoms Deal of the Year 2011, ‘Best Telecom Customer Service’, ‘Most Innovative Corporate Social Responsibility Company’, ‘Telecom Brand of the Year 2014’ amongst others.

Etisalat Nigeria with a subscriber base of over 21 million customers is one of the 19 operations of the Etisalat Group that spans across Africa, Middle East and Asia serving over 140 million subscribers; and it is committed to delivering innovative and quality services to its growing subscribers.