MTN Uganda, the sister company of MTN Ghana has won the Best Solution for Rural Services award at the second AfricaCom Awards held in Cape Town, South Africa during the 2009 AfricaCom conference.
A statement issued in Accra by Mrs Georgina Asare-Fiagbenu, Acting Corporate Service Executive, said MTN Uganda was recognised for MTN Google SMS, the field-based programme propelled by an innovative partnership that strategically combines the resources and experience of MTN, the Grameen Foundation and Google.
The category recognises an initiative taken by an operator or telecommunications solutions vendor, which has significantly improved access
to telecoms in a rural area in Africa.
The statement said entrants had to describe the initiative's objectives, scope and scale, how it was technically implemented and which
particular challenges were overcome.
"Judges also took into consideration what effects the initiative had on rural markets in terms of coverage and service uptake," it said.
It noted that the MTN Google SMS software application offered five mobile services, including Farmer's Friend, a searchable database with both agricultural advice and targeted weather forecasts; and Google Trader, which matches buyers and sellers of agricultural produce, commodities and other products.
In addition, there was Health Tips, which provided sexual and reproductive health information, paired with Clinic Finder, which helped locate nearby health clinics and their services.
The statement said since its launch, MTN Google SMS had already attracted more than 1.7 million hits with a daily average of 12,800 hits to its rural services on health and agriculture.
It quoted MTN Uganda Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Themba Khumalo, as saying: "We are proud of and encouraged by this recognition from our
industry which acknowledges MTN Uganda and indeed MTN Group's efforts to make a significant contribution to improve access to telecommunications and empower rural communities on the continent."
The statement said MTN Uganda also launched MTN VillagePhone six years ago, another award-winning initiative that continued to support improved access to telecommunications in rural Uganda.