By Prince Osuagwu

Just a few months after two Nigerian telecommunications outfits, Etisalat Nigeria and IHS consummated a partnership deal to strengthen market offerings, the deal has attracted a coveted award from Euromoney/Project Finance Magazine’s organized IJGlobal Europe & Africa Award.

The partnership which happened in August 2014 was designed to promote network sharing, ensure higher quality, sustain reliable mobile services, lower overall costs and also promote a cleaner environment through reduced diesel usage and increased investments in alternative energy solutions.

In the ‘African Telecoms Deal of the Year 2014’ category, Etisalat and its partner emerged the winners flaunting the privilege of being the first deal by a major GSM operator in Nigeria.

Etisalat said that the award handed to it at the event held in London last week, is reassuring the company that its broader strategy to drive improvements in the quality of its network and to accelerate the roll out of 2G and 3G coverage and new services to its customers, are on point.

Responding after receiving the award at the presentation dinner, Head of Strategy and Business Development, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Seun Oshitade expressed appreciation to the organizers of the IJ Global Awards as well as the partners to the deal. He said, “This award recognizes our continuous strategy to increase the coverage and capacity of our network which is already rated number one for quality of service by the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC.

Other key stakeholders who contributed to the success of the deal include financial advisers, Stanbic Bank and legal advisers, Norton Rose. Representatives from these organisations were at the event to join Etisalat in receiving the award at the ceremony held at the Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London.

IJGlobal Editor Sarah Tame, and Deputy Editor Jon Whiteaker while presenting the awards commended all the winners for the market-leading transactions in their different sectors.

The IJGlobal Awards is organized by the Infrastructure Journal and Project Finance Magazine, a publication of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.