Accra, July 25, GNA - Zain's Subsidiary, Celtel is the 2008 best telecom operator in Africa.

Zain won the Best Telecom Operator in Africa at the prestigious 2008 Business in Africa Awards held in London. It beat a host of other operators at the awards, which aimed at highlighting the growth and potential of the business landscape across Africa. Ms Ursula Owusu, Corporate and External Affairs Director, Zain Ghana, in a statement to the GNA, said the awards were co-hosted by the Commonwealth Business Council and African Business Magazine and sought to reward excellence and world class best practices across the Continent.

Mr Tito Alai, Chief Commercial Officer, Zain Group, who received the award said, "Zain places a huge emphasis on Africa in achieving its 2011 targets of being among the top-ten global mobile operator with 110 million customers". He said the award was an achievement that represented Zain's belief in the African continent and the potential that existed and added that the company was committed to building the African economic dream and developing telecommunications across the Continent. Mr Philip Sowah, Country Manager, Zain Ghana, said: "This award reaffirms the reasons why Zain is launching its network in Ghana to give Ghanaians access to the top quality telecommunications services available through Zain Operations in Africa". Zain is the fourth largest telecommunications company in the world in terms of geographical presence, operating in 22 countries with 45.7 million active customers, the statement said. Zain's mobile telecommunications operations in Ghana would begin in late 2008.