“I was like, don’t raise my BP level if this is not true,” she recalled, with her heart racing. Hannah was convinced only after she went to a Telecel Ghana retail shop, where the necessary checks and verification confirmed that she was the first weekly winner nationwide since the promo was launched just over a week ago.

“I can’t describe my excitement, and I don’t even know what to do since I won. I’m still in disbelief,” she said. Hannah has been a Telecel customer for more than 20 years and had seen the Telecel M’ahitti adverts on television with her last-born child, who eventually opted her into the promotion.

Now, the GH¢20,000 cash prize will help Hannah finish a dream that had been put on hold. Her house has been sitting unfinished at the roofing stage, with the project stalled due to lack of funds. She said the money will allow her to finally move the project forward.

Over the next four months, the Telecel M’ahitti Promo will reward 12,000 daily draw winners with GH¢100 each, up to 48 weekly draw winners with GH¢20,000 each, and three grand prize draw winners with GH¢1 million each, making it one of the largest consumer reward campaigns.

Supervised by the National Lottery Authority - Caritas, participation is free and open to all Telecel customers, who can opt in for free by dialing *500#, sending WIN to 500, or activating the promotion through the Telecel Play App. Every GH¢10 or more recharge, bundle purchase or Telecel Cash deposit earns entries into the daily, weekly and monthly draws, with customers receiving additional entries for using Telecel Cash and the Telecel Play App.

Thousands of kilometres away from the excitement in Kumasi, another GH¢20,000 weekly winner from Sefwi Anwhiaso in Western North, Bismark Oppong was also beginning to process his own unexpected fortune.

His decision to participate in the Telecel M’ahitti Promo was based on a leap of faith. He had been receiving text messages encouraging customers to opt into the promotion. The medical laboratory professional who also operates a printing business decided there was little harm in trying.

He opted in and bought airtime through the Telecel Play app. Within 48 hours, he won GH¢100 in the daily promo and that first win changed his attitude. He began purchasing more airtime and data to remain active and earn points.

Bismark said he developed a strong feeling that another win was coming. “I had this feeling within that I would win another cash prize. I kept staying active and purchasing the airtime and bundle. For some reason, I felt that I would win again.”

Last Wednesday, while he was busy attending to patients at the lab, he received the winning call but still had some lingering doubts. It took a follow-up call from Telecel’s Western North regional team and his subsequent trip to Nkawie for the prize presentation to fully convince him that he had become one of the first weekly winners.

Bismark plans to use the money to finance his Master of Philosophy degree and expand his printing business into a full business centre. He wants to turn his shop into a Telecel agent point, offering customers Telecel services.

“I thank Telecel for this intervention in my life. Every Ghanaian must use Telecel because they promise and deliver. The promo is real and you can win too,” he said.

Simultaneously, the third weekly winner, Angela Ayeley Nador from Teshie Nungua in the Greater Accra Region, also received her GH¢20,000 weekly cash prize at the presentation ceremony held around Madina Zongo Junction.

“I just received my Telecel Cash alert of GH¢20,000 from the Telecel M’ahitti promo. It is real and very true. I am not stopping because I’m actually targeting one of the GH¢ 1 million monthly grand prizes,” Angela said.

With daily and weekly winners emerging nationwide, Telecel Ghana has also urged customers to remain alert to fraud. Winners will not be asked to make payments or reveal their PIN before receiving their prizes, and customers are encouraged to rely only on official Telecel communication regarding the promotion.