CEO of Telecel Ghana, Patricia Obo-Nai, has called for deeper collaboration between academia and industry to align educational curricula with real-world skills, particularly in tech and data science, to build a competitive workforce.
Speaking as a guest speaker at Ghana Christian University College’s 14th Matriculation and 16th Congregation, she stressed that the quality of graduates is key to national development and economic sustainability.
“Academia must stay in touch with—and even ahead of—industry to prepare a future-ready workforce,” she said. She urged universities to revise curricula, partner on practical projects, and create structured work-readiness programs.
The ceremony saw 356 students matriculate and 186 graduate from the university’s Health Sciences and Business & Technology faculties.
Newly inducted GCUC President Rev. Dr. James Yamoah and Governing Council Chair Prof. Samuel Offei both appealed for support from the private sector and government to expand infrastructure and improve graduate employability.
In her closing remarks, Madam Obo-Nai encouraged graduates to lead with integrity and lifelong learning: “No textbook fully prepares you for the workplace—stay humble, stay curious, and prove your value.”
Telecel Ghana has hosted the second edition of its Women 100 Power Connect, honouring women who’ve defied convention to excel in male-dominated careers. Held as the climax of International Women’s Month, the event brought together 100 influential women to connect, share, and inspire.
Under the theme “The Road Less Travelled,” the event featured powerful stories from notable speakers, including Ghana’s Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, Prisons Service Director-General DGP Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, and Tullow Oil Ghana’s Operations Director Dr. Lina Sowah. Each shared journeys of perseverance and resilience, emphasizing mentorship, consistency, and courage.
Telecel CEO Patricia Obo-Nai highlighted the importance of storytelling in empowering younger generations: “Extraordinary stories can transform futures and empower generations of women to come.”
The event forms part of Telecel’s Women in Business initiative, which supports women-led SMEs with access to finance, insurance, capacity building, and visibility.
Emotive highlights included a traditional poetry recital, affirmation exchanges, and a symbolic candle-lighting to inspire more women to pursue bold, unconventional paths.
Enterprise Director Tawa Bolarin urged women to support and join the initiative: “Spotlighting these journeys helps dismantle the barriers that limit others.”
Through initiatives like this, Telecel continues to promote gender equity and empower women entrepreneurs across Ghana.
The Telecel Ghana Foundation has reinforced its commitment to digital inclusion by commissioning a fully equipped ICT lab at Etsiapa Memorial Methodist KG & Primary School in the Central Region.
Initiated under the Foundation’s Red Hearts Employee Volunteering Program (EVP), this project addresses the school’s critical need for digital learning tools, ensuring students gain essential skills for today’s technology-driven world.
For years, ICT lessons at Etsiapa Memorial have been theoretical, with over 500 students depending on a single laptop owned by their ICT teacher. This project marks a significant turning point, providing a modern ICT lab equipped with computers for hands-on digital learning, a projector, and a whiteboard to enhance interactive lessons, and 12 months of data support to enable research and global connectivity.
The project was championed by the Legal and External Affairs team and the Enterprise Business Unit under the Telecel Red Hearts program, which empowers employees to conceptualize and implement meaningful community projects each fiscal year. While this is the first Red Hearts project executed by the departments this fiscal year, five other departments have successfully implemented projects, including:
A 30-seater ICT lab for Anfoega Akukome E.P. Primary School
A mechanized borehole providing clean water to over 600 residents in Akohia, Asesewa
A fully renovated CHPS compound in Kongo, the Upper East Region, is improving healthcare access.
These initiatives highlight Telecel Ghana’s employee-led approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR), where employees take an active role in designing and executing impactful projects in education, health, and digital inclusion.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Rita Agyeiwaa Rockson, Head of the Telecel Ghana Foundation, Sustainability, and External Communications, emphasized the organization’s commitment to leveraging technology to drive educational equity.
“Access to technology should never be a privilege of the few. Every child, regardless of location, deserves the opportunity to develop the skills necessary for the digital economy. This ICT lab is a bridge to endless possibilities for these students,” she stated.
The Headmaster of the School, Mr. Peter Woode, expressed profound gratitude to Telecel Ghana for the transformation.
“For years, our students have only seen computers in textbooks. Today, they can finally touch, explore, and learn in real time. This ICT lab will change the way we teach and the way our students learn. We are grateful to the Telecel Ghana Foundation for making this a reality,” he said.
With this latest initiative, Telecel Ghana, through its Foundation, continues to champion digital inclusion, ensuring that no one is left behind in the rapidly evolving digital world.
Telecel Ghana Foundation’s steadfast commitment to education, healthcare, and women’s empowerment has earned it the prestigious SHIMEI Sustainability Award.
This recognition highlights the Foundation’s far-reaching impact, which has directly benefited over 6,000 Ghanaians through health initiatives in communities, STEM education in schools, and digital and financial literacy workshops across the country within the last year.
For years, the Foundation has been at the forefront of bridging the gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) through its Grow Girls in STEM and DigiTech Academy programmes. These initiatives have equipped junior and senior high school girls with firsthand experience in artificial intelligence, data science, and robotics, preparing them for roles in the digital economy.
Beyond education, the Telecel Ghana Foundation continues to make a tangible difference in community healthcare. Through Healthfest, it has provided free medical screening and primary healthcare services to thousands in underserved communities. Additionally, its Rural Ultrasound Screening for Expectant Mothers project addresses maternal health challenges head-on, aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing.
Rita Agyeiwaa Rockson, Head of Foundation, Sustainability, and External Communications at Telecel Ghana, underscored the significance of this achievement: “At Telecel Ghana Foundation, we believe true sustainability is about impact, ensuring that every initiative leaves a lasting mark on individuals and communities. This award is a celebration of the thousands of lives we have touched and fuels our commitment to do even more.”
As the Foundation continues to drive purpose-driven initiatives, this recognition reaffirms its role as a key force in corporate social responsibility, ensuring that no community is left behind in Ghana’s journey toward sustainable development.
As the corporate social responsibility arm of Telecel Ghana, Telecel Ghana Foundation is committed to contributing directly to positive change in communities through the ‘Connected for Good’ initiatives focused on three pillars – education, health and community partnerships.
Aligned with Telecel’s purpose-driven vision of “Connecting Energies,” the Foundation invests in initiatives that advance digital and STEM education, enhance the health and wellbeing of communities, and strengthen local collaboration to improve the quality of life and future outcomes of people.
(Rita Rockson, Head of Foundation, Sustainability & External Communications at Telecel (second from right) receives the SHIMEI Sustainability Award at the SHIMEI Star Influential Awards.)
In the heart of Ghana’s Eastern Region, a quiet but powerful transformation has taken place. What was once a daily struggle for water in the Akohia community of Asesewa is now a story of relief, progress, and hope, thanks to the Telecel Ghana Foundation’s flagship Employee Volunteering Programme (EVP), Red Hearts.
On March 7, 2025, employees from the Technology team and the CEO’s office officially handed over a newly constructed borehole to the people of Akohia. This initiative, driven by the passion and commitment of Telecel employees, is a lifeline for over 600 residents who have long relied on rain, dug-outs and distant rivers for drinking, cooking, and other daily needs.
For generations, water scarcity, especially during the harmattan season, made life difficult. Now, with clean water flowing at their doorstep, the community can envision a future where young children no longer wake up at dawn to fetch water before school, where families can drink and cook without worry, and where health and hygiene standards significantly improve.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, community leaders expressed deep gratitude for the project.
“Thank you, Telecel, and God bless you,” said Emmanuel Nutsui Tepkertey, the community’s Dade Mantse. “We didn’t expect this project in our community, but it will bring great progress. We are happy, and we will always welcome you.”
For as long as John Tetteh can remember, water meant a long walk. As a child growing up in Akohia, he would wake up before dawn, trek to the river, fetch water, and haul it back home before school. That was life. It wasn’t easy, but it was normal.
“This project is not just for today, but it will help the young children grow up without suffering as we did, “John shared. During the harmattan, when water is scarce, we will also be able to welcome others from nearby communities.
Rita Agyeiwaa Rockson, Head of Telecel Ghana Foundation, Sustainability and External Communications, stood beside the new mechanized borehole, reflecting on the transformation:
“When I saw what the community used to rely on for water, I knew this project had to happen. This mechanized borehole changes many things in this community. Schoolchildren don’t have to spend their mornings searching for water before class, women now have access to clean portable water for their daily chores, giving them more time for their families and businesses.
However, with great initiatives come great responsibility. Rita emphasized the importance of community stewardship in ensuring the borehole remains functional for years to come. “When we hand over a project, it belongs to the people. That means maintaining it, keeping it running, and ensuring it serves generations to come.”
The Red Hearts initiative is an annual initiative that empowers Telecel employees to champion CSR projects that bring real impact to their communities. Through Red Hearts, employees turn their passion for social good into tangible change, whether in education, health, and well-being or digital inclusion.
For the people of Akohia, this mechanized borehole is more than a structure; it is a symbol of what is possible when corporate social responsibility meets community needs. And for Telecel Ghana, it is another milestone in their journey of connecting energies, one project, one heart, and one community at a time.
Telecel Ghana employee volunteers’ hand over a life-changing borehole to the Akohia community
Each year, Telecel Ghana employees from across functions collaborate to pitch their passion humanitarian projects for possible selection as part of Red Hearts – the telco’s Employee Volunteering Programme (EVP).
From improving local schools to supporting health initiatives, the overarching goal of Red Hearts is to create meaningful, lasting positive change in underserved communities. Selected projects are brought to life by the lead teams rallying employees together to raise funds to match Telecel Foundation’s seed fund, dedicate time and expertise for the completion of the community initiative.
“Red Hearts is built on the belief that employees are change-makers within their communities. They can make their impact felt locally by giving back to the community that nurtured them,” said Rita Agyeiwaa Rockson, Head of Foundation, Sustainability and External Relations. “We are proud of our volunteers who contribute their time, energy, and finances to providing better opportunities and outcomes, particularly in underserved communities.”
Over the last year, the collective effort of employees has seen the renovation of a community clinic, under-equipped Information Computer Technology (ICT) labs in rural communities being completely refurbished and equipped with computers and tech accessories as well as the construction of boreholes to increase access to water supply in deprived areas.
Bridging the digital divide Young people in the Anfoega Traditional Area, which consists of 13 small communities, have long faced the challenge of learning hands-on digital skills as there are no computers functioning in the schools. Students struggle to learn essential ICT skills that would improve their performance in school and more importantly, in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
Telecel Ghana’s Finance, Digital Transformation and Commercial Operations teams came to the aid of the communities by spearheading the renovation, furnishing and equipping of the computer lab at the Anfoega Akukome E.P Primary School. With the new, state-of-the-art ICT lab handed over to the community in February, young people are developing their digital skills in the lab, which is available to them during and after school hours.
“I’ve always believed in the power of education, and it is unfair that some young people are deprived of access to basic digital tools to develop their skills,” said Divine Madzi, a project leader and Cash Operations Support Executive. “When we raised the funds to complete the renovation and equipping of the lab, it felt like we were giving them a better future.”
Water is life In Akohia Siasi near Asesewa in the Eastern Region, Telecel employees led by the technology team and the CEO’s office have recently inaugurated a water borehole in the town to provide clean and reliable water to over 150 homes and families, who previously struggled to access safe drinking water. Recognising the severe water scarcity in the community, employees banded together to raise funds to match the seed fund from Telecel Foundation and organised resources for the borehole.
“Clean water is a basic human need and right, and we’re proud to have played a role in bringing this vital resource to Akohia Siasi. It will not only improve health and sanitation but also contribute to a better quality of life for the community,” said Ing. Juliana Ametorwogo, project lead and technology specialist at Telecel Ghana. At the core of Red Hearts are the employees who embrace the spirit of volunteerism by crowdfunding to raise the necessary funds and dedicating their time to oversee the completion of the projects. Telecel Ghana’s CEO, Ing. Patricia Obo-Nai expressed pride in the extensive community impact of the EVP initiatives.
“Our purpose comes alive through our employees. We believe in connecting energies for the greater good and Red Hearts is a shining example of how our employees play an active role in shaping the future of our local communities. The success of these projects is the result of the generous spirit of our employees and the power of collective action.
The Electronic Money Issuers (EMIs) Chamber of Ghana has strongly condemned the recent spate of violent attacks against mobile money agents, calling for urgent intervention to protect their lives and livelihoods. The Chamber extended its condolences to the families of agents who have been killed in these incidents, emphasizing that their role in Ghana’s financial ecosystem is invaluable and must be safeguarded.
Expressing deep concern over the escalating attacks, the Chamber has called on the President, the Interior and Finance Ministers, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana to take immediate action. They urged law enforcement agencies to intensify efforts in apprehending the perpetrators and ensuring justice for the victims.
As part of its response, the EMIs Chamber is engaging with the leadership of the Ghana Police Service to explore effective security solutions. Additionally, discussions will be held with the Bank of Ghana to strengthen the Agent Registry and implement security measures to enhance the safety of mobile money agents.
The Chamber also debunked the misconception that mobile money agents carry large amounts of cash, warning that such misinformation makes them easy targets for criminals. They stressed that mobile money transactions are predominantly digital, with minimal cash handling.
To mitigate risks, the Chamber advised agents to adopt precautionary measures, including closing their shops early, avoiding carrying large sums of cash, installing CCTV cameras and alarm systems, and maintaining close contact with local police stations.
The Chamber reaffirmed its commitment to working with the government, security agencies, and stakeholders to address these security threats. It urged swift and decisive action to prevent further loss of life and ensure the safety of mobile money agents, who play a critical role in Ghana’s digital financial transformation.
In the rural community of Sefwi Bekwai, where healthcare once felt like a distant privilege, a single day marked a turning point for hundreds. Kyei, a local farmer from Bakokurom, had long grappled with the fear of illness striking his three children.
For years, even Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) seemed unattainable-until February 19, 2024, when Telecel Ghana Foundation’s Healthfest brought free medical care and NHIS enrollment to his doorstep.
The outreach, a collaboration between Telecel Ghana Foundation, Ghana Health Service, and the Divine Mother & Child Foundation (DMAC), provided critical services to over 500 residents, including free screenings for hypertension, diabetes, malaria, typhoid, and hepatitis B. For Kyei, the event meant securing NHIS coverage for his family without cost. “Now, when my children cough at night, I won’t panic,” he said, holding his new registration card. His relief echoed among 358 others who gained insurance access that day.
The initiative exposed systemic gaps in rural healthcare, where cost, distance, and distrust often deter treatment. Margaret Yankey, a mother who endured months of untreated malaria, typified the struggle. “I kept telling myself, ‘It’ll pass,” she admitted. At Healthfest, she received diagnosis and medication-a lifeline she’d lacked.
Healthcare workers underscored the urgency. Rebecca Nkrumah, a physician assistant, identified undiagnosed hypertension and diabetes cases, noting how rural residents often normalize symptoms until crises strike. Midwife Amanda Owusu Serwaa highlighted maternal care challenges: “When women are turned away by costs after walking miles, it’s a failure. This event bridges that gap.”
Since 2014, Telecel Ghana Foundation has leveraged Healthfest to tackle rural healthcare “blind spots,” blending immediate treatment with long-term solutions like NHIS enrollment. Rita Agyeiwaa Rockson, Head of Sustainability & External Communications at Telecel Ghana Foundation, emphasized partnerships as key: “By combining DMAC’s grassroots reach with our resources, we’re making healthcare a right, not a privilege.”
The program’s success lies in its dual approach: addressing emergencies while dismantling systemic barriers. For Kyei, it meant security; for Margaret, renewed health. As Ghana’s rural communities grapple with access, Healthfest offers a blueprint for transforming care-one village at a time.
Cell C is planning to launch 5G services in South Africa in the next couple of months as its financial turnaround plan gains traction.
CEO Jorge Mendes told TechCentral in an interview on Thursday that the company is at an advanced stage of preparing to launch 5G to its subscribers – and it plans to use the technology to deliver both 5G on smartphones and to offer a range of new, 5G-based fixed-wireless broadband solutions with large data bundles that compete with fibre.
Cell C’s 5G launch plans come after a period of intense negotiations with network partners MTN and Vodacom, which operate the last-mile infrastructure that connects consumers to the company’s core network. Mendes said those discussions have progressed well and that Cell C is confident it will be able to launch a 5G offering that makes commercial sense.This is very, very exciting and is a different place from where we were 24 months ago on the technology side
He said Vodacom and MTN have proved to be good partners and that there is mutual respect between the three operators, despite the fact that they compete head-on in the marketplace for a share of consumers’ wallets.
Mendes said Cell C’s decision, taken several years ago, to shut down its own radio access network in favour of outsourcing that function to Vodacom and MTN has worked well. Not only has it significantly reduced the company’s capital expenditure, it has also greatly improved Cell C’s network quality, he said.
Cell C has spent the past 18 months deploying a Mocn – multi-operator network core – roaming system, which has allowed it to create a virtual representation of its network on top of either MTN or Vodacom’s infrastructure.
VoLTE
This, according to Mendes, has given Cell C significantly greater control over where it directs user traffic, allowing it to lower costs and be more efficient.
It is also aggressively moving voice calls off old circuit-switched technology and onto an internet protocol-based technology known as VoLTE that routes calls over 4G/LTE.
“This is very, very exciting and is a different place from where we were 24 months ago on the technology side,” said Mendes.
Telecel Ghana has been recognised for its exceptional commitment to customer service, earning the coveted Customer Service Leader in the Ghanaian Telecommunication Sector honour in the 7th Ghana Customer Service Index.
Scoring the highest with 75% ahead of other telcos, the prestigious accolade demonstrates Telecel Ghana’s dedication to providing superior customer experience in the telco sector, almost a year after its rebranding efforts.
The recognition reflects the telco’s consistent efforts to prioritise customer needs and deliver efficient service.
“This recognition reflects our longstanding commitment to exceeding our customers’ expectations at every touchpoint.
“Addressing our customers’ needs is always our top priority, and we will continue to innovate and adapt to provide efficient, and inclusive customer service for all,” Patricia Obo-Nai, CEO of Telecel Ghana, said.
The Ghana Customer Service Index, a survey conducted by the Institute of Customer Service Professionals, is a national indicator of customer evaluations for the quality of goods or services patronised by both Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians living in Ghana.
Commenting on the recognition Mercy Dawn Akude, General Manager of Commercial Operations said, “At Telecel Ghana, we believe that our customers are at the heart of everything we do and that drives us to continuously improve how we serve them, be it in-person or through our self-help channels.
“This recognition is a testament to our team’s devotion to building lasting relationships with our valued customers.”
The Ghana Customer Service Index uses ten parameters in its survey of organisations across eleven sectors – trust, competence, professionalism, look and feel, customer-centric innovation, staff engagement, processes and procedures, health and safety and ease of doing business.
Telecel Ghana made significant strides in enhancing its customer service experience, achieving a 32 per cent increase in the number of calls answered at their Call Centre last year.
This rose further in January 2025, with a remarkable 68 per cent rise in call responses.
The telco also rolled out a series of initiatives including the expansion of multi-channel support, over 400 community shops nationwide, upgraded Telecel Play App and AI-powered chatbot, TERi and a clear demonstration of its commitment to inclusivity through its Super Care initiative – tailored assistance for the Deaf community.
Looking to the future, Telecel Ghana remains bent on elevating its customer service standards by embracing digital transformation and responding promptly to the evolving needs of its customers.
