Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone Ghana, Patricia Obo-Nai, has won Africa’s Most Respected CEO in the Telecommunications category at the Africa Most Respected CEO Awards held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The awards celebrated CEOs and senior public officers from Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania in various categories: such as agro-processing, automobile franchise sales, ICT, tourism, leisure and recreation, private security services, health, insurance, telecommunications, media, pharmaceuticals and aviation among others.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Mr. Surrender Singh Kandhari – the chairman of Al Dobowi Group and African Chamber for Trade United Arab Emirates said: “The awards are aimed at bringing together business captains, public sector officials and investors in Africa who deserve recognition for accomplishments in their respective areas of endeavour in the COVID-challenged emerging African corporate ecosystem”.
Patricia’s contribution to the telecommunications industry is unquestionable. In addition to championing various innovations in the industry, she is celebrated for her outstanding leadership during the height of the pandemic. Under her leadership, Vodafone Ghana introduced remarkable initiatives as part of a comprehensive relief package for Ghanaians.
She is a fierce advocate for technology and continues to emphasise the need for Africa to leverage technological advancement to drive sustainable development and secure its participation in the digital economy. Patricia reinforced this in her recent OpEd titled ‘Connecting Africa is the Seminal Challenge of our Time’. She said: “To expedite Africa’s economic recovery post-pandemic, the continent must accelerate digitalisation and expand regional cooperation”. She also called on governments, industry players and businesses to join Vodafone as it embarks on this campaign.
Patricia is also known for her strong passion for gender issues and interventions which offer economic opportunities to women. While speaking during the United Nations General Assembly last year, she made a call for an urgent solution to end maternal mortality across sub-Saharan Africa – describing it as unacceptable in this age. She also joined other female giants last year at the G7 Partnership on Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion in Africa’s event to deliberate on Catalysing Digital Financial Services for Women Across Africa.
The Mobile Magazine describes her as the ‘First lady of Mobile’. She has also won several awards including ‘CEO of the Year’ at the Ghana Information Technology and Telecommunications Awards (GITTA) as well as at the Women Leadership Excellence Awards at the CEO’s Summit and Awards.
The Africa’s Most Respected CEOs Awards were held under the theme ‘The Role of the African Corporate Pace-setters in Maximising the Opportunities Offered by the AfCFTA’. The awardees are first selected by public voting for nominees in each category. The awards event was organised by The Business Executive Ltd., an events and media company based in Accra, Ghana.
