Millicom International Cellular, a telecom operator, and Tropical Cables & Conductor Limited, a company in metal and conducting cables business have forged partnership to reduce the prevalence of fake electrical and wiring products.
The reduction of fake wiring and related electrical products in the market would contribute substantially to a reduction in the growing spate of fire accidents in the African Region.
Experts have consistently cited the mass influx of fake and substandard cable wiring and related products into the region as one of the contributory causes to the alarming rise in residential, commercial and industrial fire incidents.
In recent years, fires blamed on electrical causes have destroyed homes, major shopping clusters, and a number warehouses and factories.
Under the partnership, Millicom, trading under the brand name Tigo would support Tropical Cables in their customer authentication programme and in an upcoming advocacy effort to promote the use of quality cables and wiring in West Africa.
Customers who buy Tropical's quality cable brands would be able to authenticate each individual pack with a free text message to a shortcode for instant validation.
Tigo would to extend this and similar authentication programme across its operating markets in Africa over the course of the next two years.
Mr Abdul-Nasser Alidu, Head of Solutions at Millicom Ghana said in a statement issued and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said over the years quality had always been a key brand value of Tigo which has motivated them to deliver quality service to customers.
He said the partnership would help Tigo to participate in a quality revolution across Africa to empower people of all walks of life on the continent to insist on quality and to be able to demand it using the technology made possible by its authentication programmes.
"There should be no reason anymore why people should be sold fake cable wiring or indeed any such compromised product that can lead to severe harm.", he said.
Mr Oteng-Gyasi, Chief Executive Officer of Tropical Cables & Conductor Limited, said the operations of the company which extends beyond the borders of Ghana had contributed to the expansion of critical power infrastructure and the ongoing construction boom.
He expressed the company's concern about the impact on lives caused by fake electrical products.
"Electrocutions and fires not only imperil the safety of our people, causing horrific burns and loss of life; they also affect the general security and investment climate.
"We are proud to be part of the launch of this all-important initiative", he said.
The Tigo - Tropical authentication programme shall be powered by mPedigree Network's award-winning goldkeys anti-counterfeiting platform. MPedigree Network is a social enterprise that has been honoured by UNESCO, the World Economic Forum, the UN and Rockefeller Foundations, among other organisations.