The Minister for Communications and Digitization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has been awarded the Digital leader of the year at the 11th Ghana Information Technology & Telecom Awards (GITTA 2021).
The Digital Leader of the Year Award is in recognition of her role in driving digitalization in Ghana as well as her role as Minister of Communications and Digitalization, which has birthed several initiatives.
Delivering her welcome address, Madam Ursula Owusu Ekuful noted government’s resolve in providing the necessary basic infrastructure, a conducive legal and regulatory environment, and building capacity to improve the adoption and use of ICT to engender digital innovation as a means of leapfrogging the developmental process.
Madam Owusu Ekuful recounted the fastest digitisation efforts that have been carried out since 2017.
Her leadership has birthed initiatives such as the Girls in ICT Initiative, the E-transform project which is rehabilitating 25 selected post offices to provide e-services, Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project, setting up of ICT laboratory centres across the country among others.
Her role in the establishment of Ghana’s National Cyber Security Centre in 2018 has also been commended, as it recently led to Ghana’s cybersecurity being rated as number three in Africa by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) on its Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI). This is a major leap from the 11th position attained in the previous rating of 32.6 percent in 2017 and 43.7 percent in 2018.
The 11th GITTA, themed, ‘Rewarding and Promoting Excellence in Digital Innovations’ brought together the crème de la crème and top decision-makers in the sector while promoting and inspiring innovation in Ghana’s ICT industry as a regional leader.
The Ghana Information Technology & Telecom Award powered by InstinctWave, an ISO certified company in partnership with Ghana Telecom Chamber has become the benchmark of excellence in Ghana’s ICT Industry which celebrates organizations and individuals at the forefront of digitization with innovative products and services that keep the sector exciting.
Stakeholders from various sectors within the industry such as the Public Sector, Banking, Telecoms, ICT, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Health were recognized.
Chief Executive Officer of InstinctWave, Akin Naphtal, expressed his excitement about the 11th edition of the awards scheme, describing it as a catalyst of innovation and digitization on the African continent at large.
“We cannot underestimate the role of technology and digitization and its importance to national development and the development of the entire continent of Africa”. Mr. Naphtal noted.
Below is a list of some of the winners.
1. Cybersecurity Company of the Year – Cybertech
2. Mobile Data Company of the Year – MTN
3. Enterprise Service of the Year – Comsys
5. Cybercrime Company of the Year – Ecrime Bureaus
6. Wholesale Infrastructure Provider of the Year – C-squared (Google)
7. Unified Communications Provider of the Year – Vodafone
8. Wireless Infrastructure Provider of the Year – ATC
9. Customer Experience of the Year – MTN
10. Promoting Public Sector Digital Inclusion – Ascend Digital Solutions
11. Payment System Innovation of the Year – GHQR- GhIPSS
12. Best Use of ICT in Driving Efficiency – DVLA
13. Metro Fibre Infrastructure Company of the Year – Comsys
14. Excellence in ICT for Sustainable Development – GIFEC
15. Telecom Support Company of the Year – ATC
16. Innovative Card Product – Eazypay GH Dual Card (Zenith Bank)
17. FinTech Company of the Year – Zeepay
18. Mobile Money Leadership – MTN MoMo
19. Smartphone Brand of the Year – Tecno
20. ISP of the Year – Comsys
21. Business Transformation Company of the Year – Cloudware
22. Telecom Business Service Provider of the Year – Vodafone
23. Digital Bank of the Year – Standard Chartered
24. Best ATM and Kiosk Implementation – Absa
25. Innovative Product – Vodafone Cash
26. Excellence in Cybersecurity Initiatives – Cybersecurity Authority
27. Mobile Banking App of the Year – SC Mobile
28. Excellence in Social Investment – MTN
29. Phone Distributor of the Year – Mobile Zone
30. Best Bank for Financial Inclusion – Zenith Bank
31. Innovative E-payment Solutions Provider of the Year – Global Accelerex Ghana
32. ICT manage service company – Liranz
33. Innovative Data Centre Provider – Africa Data Center (ADC)
34. Africa Infrastructure Company of the Year – IHS
35. Excellence in Driving Digital Transformation – Huawei
36. Digital Transformation Provider of the Year – Reliance Infosystem
37. Network Operations Team of the Year – MTN
38. Digital Transformation Team – Vodafone
39. Customer Service Team – MTN
40. Telecom Tower Hall of Fame – ATC
41. Bespoke Data Product of the Year – AirtelTigo
42. Outstanding Contribution to ICT Reporting – Samuel Dowuona
43. Outstanding Contribution to Mobile Industry – Maxwell Takyi (Mobile Zone CEO)
44. IT Professional of the Year – Ebo Richardson
45. FinTech CEO of the Year – Andrew Takyi Appiah (Zeepay)
46. Industry Personality of the Year – Patricia Obo-Nai, Vodafone CEO
47. Telecom CEO of the Year – Selorm Adadevoh, MTN
48. Digital Transformation Leader – Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications and Digitalization
Other winners are in the link below.