• AfricaCom Awards recognises excellence and innovation with record-breaking entries for the 10 award categories
• Yvonne Chaka Chaka will open the AfricaCom Awards ceremony and present an award
• AfricaCom organisers delighted to re-confirm UNICEF as the Official Awards Charity
• Global leaders MTN and Gateway support the AfricaCom Awards 2009

London 7 September 2009

This year’s AfricaCom Awards (www.africacomawards.com) ceremony promises to be a must-attend affair, for the second year running.  The growth and progress of telecoms markets across the continent prompts the telecoms industry, and all the significant stakeholders, to gather and recognise excellence and innovation amongst their peers.  The 2009 Awards have received a record-breaking number of entries for the 10 illustrious award categories, and no doubt the winners announced on the night will include the Who’s Who of African telecoms.

Yvonne Chaka Chaka, the internationally renowned singer dubbed the “Princess of Africa”, will attend to open the ceremony and also to present the Changing Lives Award.  Yvonne champions many causes, including literacy in South Africa's townships, promoting the rights of women, and working to protect children everywhere.  She is a Trustee of Tomorrow Trust, which educates orphans and vulnerable children.  She is also UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador against malaria and Ambassador for Roll-Back Malaria. Yvonne has founded her own charity, the Princess of Africa Foundation, to raise awareness of this preventable disease and to eradicate it. Yvonne Chaka Chaka recently received the Most Influential Women in Business and Government 2009 award for the Arts and Culture sector.

The Com World Series, organisers of the AfricaCom Awards and the co-located AfricaCom conference and exhibition (www.comworldseries.com/africa), is delighted to reconfirm UNICEF as the Official Awards Charity for the second year running.  The AfricaCom Awards will continue to support this charity and its important work in South Africa and across the continent.  So not only do the AfircaCom Awards celebrate the achievements of the continent’s telecoms industry, it also strives to support communities across Africa struggling to subsist.  This is, of course, in line with telecoms operators across the continent, as they pay great attention to their corporate social responsibility strategies, and recognise the crucial social role of telecommunications on the continent.

Thanks to our 2009 supporters – sponsors of the event Gateway and MTN, as well as sponsors for individual award categories – the AfricaCom Awards can begin a legacy of celebrating and rewarding innovation and social responsibility in the telecoms industry.  These awards are, of course, judged by an independent panel of adjudicators. Thanks to their impartial assessments each Award retains its integrity and its value in the eyes of the telecoms industry.  These judges are a mix of experienced analysts and association representatives, for full details see http://www.africacomawards.com/awards/judges

The AfricaCom Awards are also an excellent opportunity to continue networking with your peers.  It follows the first day of business at the AfricaCom conference and exhibition – the perfect event to carry on discussions, as well as a fantastic opportunity to wine and dine with clients.

AfricaCom (www.comworldseries.com/africa) is the continent’s premier event, with more than 3,500 communications professionals from over 1,100 companies.  The exhibition will host in excess of 220 stands featuring leading global, African and regional operators, vendors, consultancies, etc., whilst the simultaneous conference agenda boasts more than 75 speakers – 32 of which will be senior-level operator representatives.  The AfricaCom event is so pertinent to the continent’s growth and innovation since it is researched and created in response to African telecommunications trends; i.e. increased competition and technological advances, and operators spending more to offer reliable and innovative services.  Investment in networks offering a potential in the data segment, such as 3G/HSPA or fixed wireless (including WiMAX) is also top of the list. Talks of mergers and acquisitions with some of the market’s biggest names (Zain, MTN) have been making headlines throughout the year, and international projects such as submarine cables and satellite networks are coming to fruition to improve broadband access. As operators try to maintain their profits while expanding, they continue to develop new partnership models to improve their cost-effectiveness.

Given this buoyant African market, it is no surprise that all major stakeholders are supporting AfricaCom – the 12th Annual Congress and Exhibition www.comworldseries.com/africa. Taking place in Cape Town 11-12 November, the 2 day congress and exhibition is hailed by regional telecom supremos as THE annual meeting place for all African telecom professionals to network, learn and do business.  Registrations are already up a staggering 60% on last year and with only 12 of the 220 exhibition stands remaining, this year is set to break all attendance records.

For more information, please visit www.africacomawards.com

About AfricaCom
Africa Com is the largest event for the continent’s telecommunications professionals to meet, network, share best practice and learn about technology and service developments. It is the flagship event in Informa Telecoms & Media’s Com World Series, a series of congresses addressing high growth market around the world: www.comworldseries.com

Last year’s event attracted 3200 participants from across the continent and internationally, with 100 countries represented and 200 different operator companies. Feedback on the event’s programme and organisation was excellent, and we are striving to deliver an even better experience to meet your needs for 2009.

The event is supported by the African CDMA Forum, UMTS Forum, Dotmobi Advisory Group, AfriSPA, FMCA, GSA, SATA, WESGRO, WiFi Alliance and over 50 media partners from local industry publications to international business magazines

About Informa Telecoms & Media
Informa Telecoms & Media is the leading provider of business intelligence to global telecoms and media markets.

Our aim is to provide actionable, strategic advice and forecasting on all aspects of converging mobile, fixed, entertainment and IT markets.

Driven by constant first-hand contact with the industry our team of analysts and researchers produce over 300 annual events and intelligence services including news and analytical products, in-depth market reports and data sets.

We benefit from outstanding people, including 100+ analysts, researchers and journalists across 14 countries. Our customers include major blue-chip vendors, operators, and regulators in addition to key players from the financial and content communities.

We are proud of the role we play in bringing the industry together and keeping 100,000 individuals better informed.

Contacts
For information on the conference programme: Julie Rey, Tel: +44 20 7017 5394
For information on marketing, press and registration: Caroline Wiezien, Tel: +44 20 7017 5605

Contact: Caroline Wiezien

Phone: +44 (0)20 7017 5605