The 17th edition of the Annual Africa Com conference, the continent’s largest technology gathering is around the corner and with it, the AfricaCom Awards that recognise the continent’s leading tech and telecoms forces.
The nominees list (available here) which was released over a week ago, has reaffirmed some operators and tech entities, including those with Zimbabwean ties, as forces to reckon with in delivering solutions for the continent.
As was the case last year there are companies from the Econet Wireless group that have been nominated for this year’s awards, with most of this recognition going to Liquid Telecoms. The Infrastructure company has a large footprint on the continent and has been engaged in projects in various regions.
Categories in which Liquid and other Econet subsidiaries have been nominated include:
“Best Connectivity Solutions for Africa”
Liquid Telecom – 100Mbps FTTH Service
“Best Network Improvement”
Liquid Telecom – Upgrading and improving the fibre network of Liquid Telecom Kenya
“Best Pan African Initiative”
Liquid Telecom – East Africa Fibre Ring
“Most Innovative Service”
Econet Renewable Energy Systems – Titan – Home Power Station
“VSAT Innovation for Africa”
Liquid Telecom – Shared MPLS Satellite Service
Last year, EcoCash, through its technical partner Mahindra Comviva won the “Best Mobile Money Service” Award and Liquid Telecoms took the award for “Best Cost Efficiency Solution for Africa.”
One clear indication from the nominees list every year is the competitive nature of the African telecoms and tech scene. The awards are viewed as a good reflection of how far service providers and developers can go in order to exploit opportunities in Africa.
It would be encouraging though, to see a Zimbabwean solution being nominated and even winning in categories like “Best App for Africa” or “Most Innovative Service.” Perhaps that’s something for local startups and the other two networks (hello Telecel and NetOne) to work towards?
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3 comments
You guys have finally woken up and found that Africacom exists. Congrats, though it might only be motivated by following Eco and company. Please give some coverage of the 17nth edition.
Your main content does not relate to start-ups at all, you highlight nominations that are NOT on a start-up level.
The AfricaCom full nomination shortlist does include the start-up space…. which you have neglected to highlight as implied by your title.
No need to click bait. We will read. Just title your articles truthfully, in line with your content
Talking about awards, EcoCash is getting appreciation at the global stage. Recently EcoCash Save is nominated for Meffys 2014 awards in 3 categories – ‘Mobile Money’, ‘Mobile Service’ and ‘Innovation in a Growth Market’. The entries are in collaboration with Mahindra Comviva, EcoCash’s platform provider
http://mefglobalforum.org/meffys-2014-finalists/