Four winners of the 2016 MTN Women in Business Awards will, this weekend, travel to South Africa for a week-long trip to learn, share experiences and tour similar SME businesses in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
The revelation was made at a breakfast event hosted by MTN at the home of MTN Business at Nyonyi Gardens in Kololo, Kampala and attended by the winners.
The all-expenses paid trip is part of the prizes promised by the telecom prior to the announcement of the winners earlier this year.
MTN Business is fulfilling this obligation as the company continues to celebrate the spirit of excellence and perseverance that continues to empower women to be the drivers of positive change in our community.
“Through the MTN Women in Business Platform, MTN celebrates the spirit of excellence that is demonstrated by those outstanding women that have harnessed technology/ICT and talent to grow their businesses and we’re delighted to further empower this year’s winners as they travel to engage with entrepreneurs driving change in a different environment,” noted MTN’s Chief Marketing Officer Mapula Bodibe.
Winners pose for a photo with some MTN Uganda top officials
MTN Business General, Manager Reginald Kafeero commended the winners for their hard work and perseverance that made them winners in the first place, and challenged them to utilize the linkages from the trip to the benefit of their businesses and society.
“The fact that you won these awards means you are outstanding business leaders. It is our hope that linkage and exposure will further empower you and enable you to grow your businesses further to the benefit of your communities,” Kafeero said.
MTN Uganda has been at the forefront of supporting Business communities in Uganda particularly through its MTN Business training programs for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) aimed at providing them with the right expertise to not only start up new business ventures but to also grow and sustain their current business to ensure optimum output and profitability. This program has over the years extended to Women in Business (WiB) as well.
“In addition to providing all the necessary solutions and tools to support businesses, MTN delights itself in the power to further impact society by helping business leaders grow to reach new heights,” said MTN’s Chief Executive Officer Wim Vanhelleputte, speaking at the flagging off event.
“True development comes from the participation of women in the economy. Uganda is among the few privileged countries. We are excited to be facilitating the winners as they go to this trip and hope it will be a productive one.”
MTN Uganda CEO, Wim Vanhellepute giving his remarks on Tuesday morning
In honour of Women and specifically Women in Business, MTN joins the rest of the world in celebrations in the month of March.
For the last 4 years MTN Uganda has hosted 400 women to a dinner and combined it with a themed special Women’s Day Panel Discussion, the themes have varied each year depending on the hot topics and recommendations from previous events.
WiB event is the most sought after in the calendar of both professional and Women entrepreneurs and its audiences.
Traveling Winners
1) Susan Ajok, Managing Director, Straight Talk Foundation – MTN Women In Business 2016: Excellence in ICT
2) Jacqueline Birigwa Nuwamanya, Managing Director, Rural Communications Limited – MTN Women In Business 2016: Excellence in Financial Services
3) Alice Karugaba, MD & Founder, Nina Interiors Limited – SME CEO of the year 2016
4) Mrs. Barbara Ofwono Buyondo, Principal, Victorious Education Services – SME CEO of the year 2015
During the trip, the women will get a chance to attend a digital marketing workshop in Johannesburg, visit some of the SMEs in East Africa and also attend the two-day ‘Africa com’ conference which majors in technology.