By Janet A. Sesay
It is no secret that when you do good work it pays. That is why the leading mobile telecom in Sierra Leone, Orange-SL’s Chief Executive Officer, Aminata Kane, has won the most prestigious award for African-based Telecoms. This telecom is at the forefront of navigating organizations through industry by prioritizing innovation, embracing disruptive tech and elevating the continent’s digital economy.
Among those who were contending for the award include Malik Melamu, Chief Executive Officer at MTN Sudan, Marc Halbfinger, Chief Executive Officer at PCCW Global and Stephene Duproz, Chief Executive Officer at African Data Centres.
Expressing their happiness yesterday, at their Hill Station office in Freetown, the Chief Executive Officer first thanked God for His abundant favor on her life and for choosing her among other elegant people to have such an award. She thanked her staffs for everything that they have been able to achieve together. According to her, the award would not have become possible without them.
“God has been so good to me because He gave me a loving family in the person of you people,” she stated.
Aminata furthered that, during the course of her visit, she knew, at the beginning, it was not easy and plenty of the staffs at Orange were asking about who she was, because they did not know her and they were thinking that it was another company that was about to take over.
“I told them it was the same company and it was here to stay, because we want to invest in the staff,” Aminata stated.
She said, “We invest in our staff. The award has proved it all,” she noted.
She thanked the staffs for their trust. She said, during her first visit to Sierra Leone, two staffs at Orange took her for trips and, during those trips, she thought there was something in the country.
Aminata Kane confirmed that there are a lot of potentials, but a lot of people do not believe in themselves. She furthered that it was one of the things that made her to come to Sierra Leone, to give people assurance that they are the best and Sierra Leone can be the best in Africa.
The CEO said she was happy that Sierra Leoneans are people that can work together. “In no time Sierra Leone can be number one in Africa,” she expressed hopefully. She said it is because of her staffs and the trust they put on each other that they are in the place where they are today.
According to her, she wants her staffs to remember that they can be the best at any time. “There is no reason for you not to be the best. Sierra Leone has had war and Ebola. The country had been politically divided, but the strategy is that you can be the best. I have seen it all in you,” the Orange CEO said.
She ended that moving forward is a way staff should know that the Company is a legacy for their kids, and the higher the Company goes the higher they would go. She said it was really good that they can be African but provide the best as there is no substandard for Africa and no substandard for Sierra Leone.
She said Orange Sierra Leone is the best and the champion and her staff have to believe in that. They should maintain that legacy. She encouraged her staff to work together and advised them not to be politically and religiously divided.
“It is important for you to work as a team, and I am counting on you all,” Aminata concluded. Hillary Williams, who is the Head of Supply and Management Orange Sierra Leone, congratulated the Chief Executive Officer and said the award was not a surprise. ”They know the kind of person she is and what she is capable of doing,” he told his colleague workers.
He said the work that the CEO is doing is felt around the Company except for those who don’t have eyes and cannot see. He said the staffs truly appreciate Aminata. He confirmed that it was a prayer that they will be the first and there are many other awards to come.
Williams continued that they appreciate Aminata Kane and her leadership and hopes that they will copy from their CEO. “She is very hardworking and committed. I hope and pray that we will continue this attribute as employees of Orange Sierra Leone,” Hillary Williams noted.
Cecilia Mendes Buah, from the Orange Money Sierra Leone Department, in her statement, told the CEO to continue to “work hard, aim high and care deeply” on what she believes in. She said that the CEO’s hard work has spoken like a roaring lion and the award winning sounds as palpable evidence. On behalf of the Orange money team, she showered hearty and warm congratulations to her boss.
Kadijata Jalloh, Secretary, General Department, Orange Sierra Leone, said it was a blissful day for Orange Sierra Leone and Sierra Leone at large. She said all this was possible because of one person whom they have given their support to as a team.
She said the CEO have been an inspiration to Orange Sierra Leone and it staffs and, more especially, Sierra Leone women. She said that the CEO have ambition and objective to take Orange to the next level as she has made Orange the first to record a win in Sierra Leone and Africa as a whole.
She ended by congratulating the CEO for the award.