MTN wins CSR company award for second consecutive year

Magdalene Teiko Larnyoh 15:22 - 10 October 2016

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The award was initiated to give recognition to organisations that have implemented transformational initiatives to promote social change in the country.

MTN Ghana has been crowned the overall CSR Company of the Year for the second consecutive time at the 6 Ghana CSR Excellence Awards (GHACEA). At the same event, MTN Ghana also won the CSR Telecom of the year.

The Ghana CSR Excellence Awards, which has evolved from the Ghana CSR Diary & Awards was launched in 2011 by the then Minister of Trade and Industry, Hon. Hannah Tetteh and the former President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Nana Owusu-Afari.

The award was initiated to give recognition to organisations that have implemented transformational initiatives to promote social change in the country. It is the only CSR Award scheme that focused mainly on how businesses respond to their internal and external stakeholders, environment and society at large.

The citation presented stated, “MTN Ghana, over the past 20 years has consistently contributed to national development through job creation and social investments. MTN provides over 500,000 direct and indirect jobs across the country and for about ten years, MTN keeps supporting diverse social investment projects spending in excess of GH 22 million.”

The citation continued, “MTN Ghana’s relentless financial inclusion drive has enabled over 6 million subscribers in the remotest part of the country have access to funds when they need it. MTN Ghana’s Heroes of Change project, selecting and equipping change makers across the country, has caused positive ripples of change across the country and in many aspects of the human life. For these and many other social investment projects, MTN Ghana is the CSR Company of the year 2016.”

Commenting on the award, the Corporate Services Executive of MTN Ghana Mrs. Cynthia Lumor, said, “We are excited to have received these two awards in the year we celebrate our 20 Anniversary milestone. Contributing to national development has been a hallmark of 20 years of operating in Ghana, and our core operations as well as the impactful and sustainable projects in which we invest speak to our commitment to Ghana.”

She further dedicated the awards to all MTN Foundation stakeholders for partnering MTN to become the overall best CSR Company in Ghana.

Since its establishment in 2007, the MTN Ghana Foundation has invested and implemented over 135 major projects in the areas of education, health and economic empowerment which is directly impacting an estimated 3 million and several others indirectly. In commemorating its 20 Anniversary, MTN Ghana will provide over 300 scholarships to students across the ten regions of Ghana. In addition, MTN will construct and equip a 40-bed maternity block for the Tema General Hospital as well as provide funds to construct and equip a processing plant for women in oil palm production at Juaso in the Ashanti region.

The MTN Ghana Foundation was recently honoured by Rotary Foundation of Rotary International for their contributions towards the eradication of polio in Ghana. A Certificate of Appreciation was presented to MTN Ghana Foundation during the African Elegance Dinner of Zone 20A Institute of Rotary International in Accra.