AfricaCom Awards 2012 winners

Etisalat Prize for Innovation

The 'Etisalat Nigeria Prize for Innovation' seeks to promote the utilisation of mobile broadbansd in Africa. The inaugural 'Etisalat Prize for Innovation is aimed at encouraging and celebrating valuable innovation in the African market and will awarded in two categories. The first prize of $25 000 for the most innovative product or service launched in the last 12 months and a second prize of $10 000 for the most innovative idea.

Etisalat believes innovation should go beyond improvements in existing products and services and instead have real valuable social or economic impact to customers.

The winner of first prize was Mobile Maths Practice, a mobile application to help students around the globe prepare for maths exams. The invention relates to wireless communications and methods and systems in which a wireless service provider may offer wireless data messages to mobile subscribers.

Second place went to iConnect Project, which supplies mobile broadband internet connection vehicles to schools in a variety of geo-locations. The vehicles are refurbished shipping containers connected to a truck head and are fully mobile and are therefore scheduled into a school's timetable which enables sharing and full connectivity.

Speaking on the success of the competition which witnessed an impressive array of entries for the two award categories, chief executive officer of Etisalat Nigeria, Steven Evans, explained that the competition was instituted to provide the opportunity for innovative and relevant mobile broadband products/services and ideas.

"We are delighted at the creativity shown by all the entries and this is a clear indication of the importance of broadband in Africa. Innovative broadband projects, products and services have improved the way we live and work and so we launched this award because we realise the importance of broadband in the industry. Innovation is core to our business strategy at Etisalat Nigeria and we see ourselves as a young and innovative business setting the pace for others in the Nigerian telecommunications industry" said Evans.