Other winners, who walked away with accolades at a dinner held at Serena Hotel Saturday night, were Lindsay Handler, the owner of Fenix International who took the MTN Women in Business Award for Excellence in Financial Services Award. The award recognises the Company's outstanding use of the company's Financial services (Mobile Money) proposition to grow her business to greater heights.
The third Award went to Kembambazi Sabiti the proprietor of Amadeus Travel Company in the Category of MTN Business Excellence in ICT. Amadeus Travel Company was recognised for its outstanding use of MTN Business ICT proposition to grow her business to greater heights.
The winners received a work trip to South Africa to meet the biggest SME and learn from them, MTN office Wi-Fi for six months, $10,000 from the Y'ello Rose program, CUG activation and free subscription for six months, five MTN Fixed lines ,and one year hosting at Mutundwe data centre from MTN Uganda, they also received advertising space of up to 20 million for three months on NTV, free business advisory services from Uganda Development Bank and free strategic plan review for sustainable growth and 50% discount on adverts in Summit Business Magazine.
MTN Uganda has been at the forefront of supporting Business communities in Uganda particularly through its MTN Business training programs for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) aimed at providing them with the right expertise to not only start up new business ventures but to also grow and sustain their current business to ensure optimum output and profitability. This program has over the years extended to Women in Business (WiB) as well.
Addressing the guests that comprised more than 300 professional and Women in Business at the dinner, MTN Uganda CEO Brian Gouldie encouraged Women in Business to take advantage of the company's wide range of digital products, as well as its robust network coverage which the company has invested in to support its customers' personal and business needs.
"This consistent investment has created the best customer experience in the sector, reflected in the increased use of the company's products, especially data services as well as growth of the customer base to well over 10.4 million subscribers. MTN Uganda continues to focus on Customer Experience, Superior Quality and its Employer of Choice proposition with improved long-term Shareholder returns" Gouldie said.
Gouldie announced the launch of a new program initiated by the company, called "Y'ello Rose" which he referred to as a vessel to connect influential woman in Uganda to the rest of the Ugandan Women by giving them the platform to inspire, coach and make a life-long difference.
According to Gouldie, every year in March, the MTN "Y'ello Rose" Committee will choose 15 women who will each be awarded with $10,000 & be challenged to use as investment to make a social difference in any way that they see fit in 12 months from receiving the Award.
The CEO said since the company embarked on the SME training program, over 1,000 SMEs across the region have been empowered and most of the time, the program have had an estimated 40% turn up from Women (participants). He added that the company's vision for 2015 is to add value in the lives of its customers through its segmented offerings, a task the company is committed to continue implementing alongside many other programs.
Gouldie added: "Over the years we have endeavoured to lead the way as a catalyst of change in the lives of our customers. The awards tonight, are testimony to the fact that MTN Uganda is championing the upliftment and empowerment of Women using technology. We will continue to demonstrate our commitment to making positive and lasting change in the lives of women.
The dinner was also spiced up by distinguished women and men who have excelled in different rights. Agnes Konde, Managing Director NTV Uganda, Partricia Adongo Ojangole, Managing Director Uganda Development Bank, Mustapha B Mugisa, President, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Uganda Chapter, Dr. Maggie Kigozi, President, Business and professional Women (BPW) Kampala, Uganda and Joseph Baliddawa, President, Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda were among the distinguished women also helped us select women who have excelled in innovating and using technology to enable success in SME since thus year's theme for the awards is "Innovation and technology enabling success in SME"
Speaking at the event, the Guest of Honour Maria Kiwanuka applauded the company for creating a platform through its wide product range, as well as its services and coverage, which has given women the opportunity to rise and shine in business as well as in the corporate world adding that the dinner and the awards served as demonstration that MTN Uganda acknowledges the importance of Ugandan women in both the social and economic development of the country.
Kiwanuka applauded the business sector and particularly the women entrepreneurs for driving the growth of the economy. She highlighted the fact that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have over the years, continued to support the phenomenal growth of business in Uganda and have therefore formed the backbone of Uganda's economic growth with over 60% of revenue being generated by medium sized companies.
