Frost & Sullivan awards innovation in Africa

The awards were made to companies demonstrating leadership in markets including Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa.

"The companies that received awards have shown innovation, competitiveness and leadership in meeting the particular demands of doing business in Africa," said Frost & Sullivan Africa consulting director Hendrik Malan.

"The products and services that we recognised should be applauded as examples of how to manage business in the current economic climate."

In the last two decades of the 20th century, Africa's collective economy experienced slow economic growth. However, some time during the late 1990s the continent picked up pace, doubling its growth rate from 2000 through 2008.

"It is also important to note," says Malan, "that only a quarter of this growth can be explained by the resource boom. A stronger contributor was the economic and political reform Africa experienced creating more conducive operating environments for corporates, like the awardees Frost & Sullivan has recognised tonight, to flourish."

The keynote address for the evening was delivered by Nico Stolz, TSB Sugar's ethanol and energy specialist. He focused on the innovative processes utilised in the sugar industry, specifically referring to energy generation and the opportunities to incorporate renewable energy from waste, within the industry. TSB Sugar presented Frost & Sullivan with a 120MW Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) thereby neutralising Frost & Sullivan's carbon electricity footprint and promoting green energy projects.

2010 African Excellence Awards winners:

• 2010 South African Data Centres Market Share Leadership Award: Business Connexion
  
• The 2010 South African Medical Imaging Product Quality Leadership Award: Lodox Systems
  
• 2009 West & East Africa Carrier Ethernet Customer Value Enhancement Award: ECI Telecom
  
• 2010 South African Food & Beverage Chemicals Customer Service Leadership Award: Danlink Ingredients
  
• 2009 South African Control Valves Market Leadership Award: Dresser International (South Africa)
  
• 2010 South African Biomass Gasification Technology Innovation Leadership Award: Carbo Consult & Engineering
  
• 2010 Southern African Development Community Mobile Telecommunications Market Penetration Leadership Award: Telecel Zimbabwe
  
• 2009 South African Manufacturing Execution Systems Market Leadership Award: Wonderware South Africa
  
• 2010 World Mobile OTP Key Authentication New Product Innovation Award: FireID

"Our long-established awards programme honours companies that have demonstrated a unique approach to doing business in their markets," said Malan. "Frost & Sullivan celebrates these ideas and strategies that drive corporate growth."