Airtel Ghana has once again been adjudged the Telecom Company of the Year 2012 by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) at its awards ceremony held on Friday 13 September, 2013 at the Banquet Hall. This is the second time in four years that Airtel has won the most coveted industry award – CIMG Telecoms Company of the Year. The award was in recognition of Airtel’s ‘best-in-class’ services based on customer insight supported by a 3.75G network; its marketing initiatives and promotions; well as its CSR (corporate social responsibility) programs, which continues to touch lives in the communities. The citation which accompanied the plaque read: “You were established barely three years ago but; within this period you have shown resilience and resourcefulness through your continuous innovation in the areas of excellent customer service, managing marketing effectiveness, managing and developing marketing people and your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives”. The citation continued; “From a humble beginning, you have become a force to contend with in the industry. Your name continues to be associated with all the nicknames in the telecom industry notably “Obolobo” “Frndz” etc. Commenting on the awards, the Managing Director of Airtel Ghana, Philip Sowah who was accompanied by his team to pick up the award said “This is fantastic news, great job team. We are focused on remaining very competitive in the area of customer care and providing products and services that address the different needs of our various customers and make their experience on the network even better. This award is testament that the strategies we have put in place are paying off”. Philip Sowah said the company would continue to remain focused in enhancing its products and services to address its customers’ needs, because it believes customers deserve more from their communications services provider. Head of Corporate Communications at Airtel Ghana, Donald Gwira also noted that the recognition as the telecoms company of the year was a motivation for Airtel to do more for its customers and the communities across the country. “We are humbled by this recognition and thrilled that customers are identifying with the brand and are endorsing our offers. “We will continue to invest in the network, listen to our customers whose feedback spurs us on to do better he added. Airtel is the fourth largest telecom company in Ghana, by subscriptions. Since it took over from Zain some three years ago, its customer base has largely grown steadily with a few ups and downs along the way. It inherited some 1.3million customers from Zain in 2010, and in barely four years, it has grown the subscriber base to about 3.12million representing 11.44% market share. The company also runs a mobile money service, Airtel Money, which is touted as the most successful in the country because its offers customers opportunities to do a lot more with their mobile wallet than any other Mobile Money service does in the country. Its Award-Winning CSR initiative, Airtel Touching Lives has turned the lives of many around in the country; and so has its Airtel Rising Stars, which is a youth football program that has trained many young soccer talents, like Black Maidens Captain, Priscilla Okyere for the country.