Kampala Serena Hotel was host to yet another colorful awards gala on Friday at which the winners of the 2016 MTN Women in Business Awards were announced. This year’s awards gala under the theme “Women in Business: Using Technology to manage their businesses” is the 4th installment of the now annual MTN Women In Business Awards.
“MTN is using the initiative to continue its support for Business communities in Uganda, manifested through its extensive Enterprise business solutions offering as well as the MTN Business training programs for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),“ they said in a statement.
“The initiative has helped equip business owners with the relevant ICT tools and expertise to not only start up new business ventures but to also grow and enhance their current business to ensure optimum output, increased efficiency and improved profitability,“ they added.
The Awards ceremony was preceded with a panel discussion where the panelists shared their experiences and gave sound wisdom and advice to the audience.
Jennifer Mwijukye, CEO and founder of Unifreight Group gave a powerful keynote speech in which she challenged women in business to “up their game”.
“As women in business, we need to think big and think far, look beyond profit, and think about how to make our businesses sustainable and the impact that we have on the society and communities in which we operate,” Ms Mwijukye said.
She also challenged women to be responsible in business, in ways like paying taxes due in order to develop the country.
MTN’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mapula Bodibe said, “Tonight we celebrate the spirit of excellence that is demonstrated by those outstanding women that have harnessed technology/ICT and talent to grow their businesses, and I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to all the nominees and tonight’s winners”.
“For the winners, we have packaged the prizes to be able to aid further growth of your business, thereby achieving our mission of empowering businesses. On behalf of MTN, I would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to the partners that have complemented MTN’s packages for the winners,” she added.
MTN Business’s General Manager, Reginald Kafeero, highlighted the introduction of the MTN Business bundles which give business customers access to a range of value bundles that fulfill all their communication needs. The MTN Business Bundles can be accessed through MTN Business at Nyonyi Gardens or MTN service centres.
Earlier in the day the MTN Business Expo brought together several businesses that showcased their offerings, ranging from business solutions for SMEs, consulting, online shopping, travel and insurance among others.
Here are the winners of the 2016 MTN Women in Business Awards:
- CEO of the year Award: Alice Karugaba, Nina Interiors.
- Excellence in ICT Award: Susan Ajok, Straight Talk Africa.
- Excellence in Financial Services Award: Jacqueline Birigwa Nuwamanya. Rural Communication Centre LTD.
- Customers’ Choice Award: Charlotte Kanabahita Kamugisha, Bunyonyi Safari’s.
The winners’ spoils:
- Huawei P8 smart phones from Huawei Uganda
- Up to 30% discount on advertising on NTV Uganda to be used within the 3 months
- A combo advertising package on both Radio One and Two
- Queen Motor Insurance cover from UAP Insurance Uganda limited
- Fuel vouchers worth UGX 500,000 from Vivo Energy Uganda
- Best-business practice training by Trademark EastAfrica through their partner Uganda Revenue Authority, to all the winners and nominees.
- Summit Consulting Limited, an advisory firm, who have offered their expertise to review the winners’ and nominees businesses and align their strategic plans for sustainable growth.
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- Serena hotel extended the following:
- SME CEO Of the year: Weekend for 2 at Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa on a bed and Breakfast basis
- Excellence in ICT Award: Brunch for 4 at Kampala Serena – 2 adults and 2 Children.
- Excellence in Mobile Financial Award – Spa day pass at Maisha- for 1 person
MTN will also offer the following to the 3 winners of the awards:
- MTN Office WiFi for a period of 6 months
- MTN Fixedlines
- MTN MTN Business Bundle activation and free subscription of MTN Go Bundle for 6months
- MTN Colocation for a period of one year
- A working trip to South Africa to meet the biggest SMEs there so ideas can be exchanged and lessons learnt.
