MTN, a telecommunications company in the country, has launched a book titled: ‘Telecoms conversations: A History of Telecommunication Economics and MTN in Ghana’.
The 300 page-book looks at the history of telecommunications from the Gold Coast to Ghana and, especially, the economics around its operations and, in particular, the last 20 years of MTN in Ghana.
The 10-chapter book looks at telecommunications role in aspects of development. The chapters focus on: An Architecture of Pre-Digital Super-Highway, An Economy Runs through the Glaciers, and MTN in Ghana, Settling among the Believers, Mobile Financial Services, Banking, Business-finance and Knowledge Economy, Rural Economic Growth, Sustainable Development Goals, Philanthropy and Social Responsibility and A Leadership for Growth.
The discussions in the book also look at pre-independence of Ghana with focus on the economic history of the country- the era of the Economic Recovery Programme and the Structural Adjustment Programme which came with it from the early 1980s and the privatisation of state enterprises etc.
The book was authored by Ivor Agyeman-Duah, a development specialist and a member of the International Advisory Board of the African Studies Centre for Oxford University. He is a Visiting Scholar and Director of the Wole Soyinka Foundation at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. He is author/editor of several books including Between Fate and History: A Biography of J.A. Kufuor; Pilgrims of the Night: Development Challenges and Opportunities in Africa. Agyeman-Duah has received 15 awards, fellowships and grants from around the world including the second African to receive the prestigious Distinguished Friend of Oxford award for 2012.
The book was published by Ayebia Clarke Publishing Company in Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom and the Pagesetters Publishers in Singapore. The two editions will be sold in two markets- the UK edition will sell in UK, Europe through Turn around Distributors and also in the United States through Casemate Publishers and distributors. They will also sell in South Africa through Jonathan Bell. The Pacesetters edition will sell in Ghana, West Africa and others parts of the world. Copies of the book will be available at major bookshops operated by Kingdom Book and Stationary- Legon Bookshop in Accra, branches in parts of the country and also through Vidya Bookshop at Osu and Labone.
About MTN Ghana
MTN Ghana is the market leader in the increasingly competitive mobile telecommunications industry in Ghana, offering subscribers a range of exciting options under Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go Services and Mobile Financial Services. The company has committed itself to delivering reliable and innovative services that provide value for subscribers in Ghana’s telecommunications market. Since its entry into Ghana in 2006, MTN has continuously invested in expanding and modernising its network in order to offer superior services to a broad expanse of the nation.