Ethiopian Airlines emerged as the ‘African Champion of the year‘ at the 7th edition of the Africa CEO Forum that took place in Rwanda’s Capital Kigali early this week.
Ethiopian Airlines was awarded for their intra-african partnerships, reaching 40 countries on the continent, the Africa CEO Forum said in a statement.
Every year, the Africa CEO Forum celebrates the best of African business.
The award was received by the airline’s CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam.
“I would like to start by thanking everyone who has supported us after the tragic accident that happened to us two weeks ago. We promise to keep up the good work for the good of the African continent,” Gebremariam said in his acceptance speech.
The award comes at a time when Ethiopian Airlines is yet to recover from its deadliest crash that took place on 10 March 2019. The Boeing 737 MAX 8, barely four months old, crashed shortly after takeoff en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi; all 157 people on board perished.
Also at the event, Morocco’s Mohamed el Kettani emerged the 2019 African CEO of the year.
Other winners at the Africa CEO Summit are Engie Africa, beating other international companies to the ‘International Company of the year’ award.
Nigeria’s logistics company, Kobo 360, was named ‘The Disrupter of the Year’ for registering immediate and significant success in a sector where costs are higher in Africa than anywhere else in the world.
The awards wouldn’t have ended without recognition of gender and Access Bank were the victors, going home with the ‘Gender Leader’ award. The emancipation of women forms the backbone of the Bank’s strategy.
In their 7th year in a row, the 2019 Africa CEO Awards took place in Kigali, Rwanda, recognizing outstanding performance of business leaders, companies and investors in Africa.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS:
African CEO of the year- Mohamed el Kettani
African Champion of the year- Ethiopian Airlines
International Company of the year- Engie Africa
The Disrupter of the Year – Kobo 360
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