Qcell Supports Quality Education in 70 High Schools

In this edition of Business Matters we bring you deliberations made by the Chief Executive Officer of Qcell Muhammed Jah at the inauguration ceremony of the Spelling Bee Competition organised by the leading GSM operator-Qcell in collaboration with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education. The competition started in schools in the greater Banjul area.

Observers believe that the astronomic successes registered by Qcell within its 16 months of operation are unprecedented in the history of mobile phone companies in the Gambia.

"We belief Qcell is indigenous, born and bred in The Gambia. The company is unique in the sense that it is the only GSM Company owned by a young Gambian entrepreneur."

Leading by delivery, Qcell in a bid to promote Standard English language in all the high schools have sponsored a 10 million dalasi spelling competition with a view to better equip and improve expertise of high school students in spellings. It is against this backdrop that Qcell came up with this initiative to help students improve their English language and other subjects like science, math, geography among others. It is a widely held view that if English language is not mastered it would be difficult for students to even understand other subjects, as English is the language of instruction used in our schools, hence the emphasis on English language.

The "SUNU BUSS," of the Qcell logo is Wollof meaning "our own". The company being born and bred in The Gambia, is believed to the motivating factor for the giant GSM service provider to help improve students’ excellence in English. Below is the full text of the speech delivered by CEO Jah.

Read on:

I am sure most of you have heard or have already had the opportunity of using Qcell SUNU BUSS products and services. Before going in to the project, I would like to give the audience a brief history of Qcell SUNU BUSS and where Qcell is today and what we stand for as an indigenous Gambian Company.

Qcell stemmed from the QuantumNet group, the first internet service provider in the Gambia and total Information Technology solution provider. Qcell SUNU BUSS started operations in July 2009. Although Qcell is just 16 months old, we are always seen and perceived as if we have been in the Gambia for over ten years. This is due to our strong marketing team and ideas coupled with our excellent products and services we offer to our esteemed customers. Since we started operations, we promised our customers and the entire Gambia population that we will bring the best and the latest in the world of GSM mobile Telecommunication coupled with the cheapest tariffs.

Ladies and gentlemen, you will agree with me that this was a very tough and ambitious challenge we set for ourselves. Imagine someone telling you I will give you the best technology, I will give you the latest technology at the cheapest prices, will you believe it? In summary Qcell SUNU BUSS will give you more for less in the most competitive environment competing with competitors who have been in the market for over 10 years. Will you believe that person or company? What is pleasing to note is that Gambians believed in us, the ministry of education believed in our vision as they were one of the first institutions to patronize us by taking CUG (close user group) and data cards for their top Managers. I could recall the day I went to the president to present Qcell products and services, H. E was quick to point out to the minister of basic and secondary education that Qcell is the right partner for the E-Government project because with our DATA card and 3G network, one can now access 3G data and internet anywhere and anytime in the Gambia. Thank you madam minister and your team for the trust you always have on these young Gambian teams.

We are committed that Qcell is not going to be just another GSM operation. The idea of bringing to the Gambia "the highest and the best" in telecommunications technology is our goal. Nothing short of the best would do. We are aiming to place ourselves industry standards in the Gambia and as such, our goal and challenges are very high. The president’s vision 2020, the Silicon Valley project and many other initiatives are all timely responses to the technological of our age.

You will agree with me that by any standard of reckoning, Qcell is what the Americans call a game changer. It continues to raise the bar, in terms of its technology, its services and its products. Qcell is the only 3G network in the Gambia, with facilities and services that no other operator can offer. With a Qcell SIM card you can have the following services:

• 3G Broadband internet access on your mobile or on your laptop through data card

• Video call, Qcell MMS, Qchat, Qtunes, QAlert, Qwap

• Qcell’s CUG services, allow users working in the same institutions to talk and see each other free of charge, thereby reducing the communication cost for the individuals and institutions drastically.

• Qcell instant roaming postpaid and pre-paid SIM cards which enable Qcell subscribers to use their Qcell instant Roaming SIM card and talk anywhere in the world

• Credit Advance-E-Fankanta

• Bonus promotion for the first time in the Gambia, our subscribers can use their Qcell bonus not only for voice and SMS but also DATA. This services give flexibility to our customers in the way their bonus credit is used with no limitations on the services we offer (voice and SMS & data). It also saves our customers’ money, in the sense that they get value for the money they spend.

• Product wise, we are the only GSM Company in the Gambia to produce our own branded telephones and data cards, I am sure some of you have got the feel of our Muslim phone, 3G phone and our doubleSIM phones which you will agree with me that they are of top and very high standards. All our products come with one year warranty.

And mindful that communication was more a necessity rather than a privilege, we made affordability a key pillar of our corporate identity-Qcell, the cheapest network in the Gambia. Despite all the noise around, Qcell was the first GSM operator to make this bold move by promising to always bring you the cheapest tariff ever! Qcell SUNU BUSS for the first time in the Gambia has brought down GSM tariff to its lowest, D2.50 per minute, making it cheaper than any network in the Gambia. Customers save nearly 50 bututs every minute by using Qcell SUNU BUSS. Qcell SUNU BUSS SIM costs no more than other SIMs, but it offers many more services than any other. Our weekend free call service has over the time helped Gambians cut down their mobile expenses drastically and enable their savings re-circulate within our economy, hence improving everyone’s life.

If you have not got one of the Qcell SIM Cards, I would urge you to rush now and get one so that you can enjoy all the above services at the cheapest rates, the Qcell model is to make communications as clear and easy and at the cheapest possible cost. Qcell has been a trailblazer in bringing to the people of the Gambia the most up-to-date technological innovations available in the market.

Qcell will always innovate; it will never relent or compromise on standards. Part of our motivation as a company, is to keep the people of this country abreast with the innovative changes in the world of GSM technology. To that goal, we are firmly committed.

Today is a big day for us, madam minister, permanent secretary and the entire ministry of Education team, Qcell SUNU BUSS is once again renewing its commitment to the development of education in the Gambia by coming up with the biggest educational competition in the Gambia. This project will cost Qcell SUNU BUSS D10, 000,000 (Ten million dalasis). Qcell in partnership with the ministry of basic and secondary education will be organizing the spelling bee competition in every senior secondary school in the Gambia from Banjul to Koina. The total number of schools is about 70 senior secondary schools. The first phase of the competition starts at the Sheikh Mass Kah senior secondary school. In each school, spelling bee competition will organise among the school houses and each house will select students, first price will go with 3Q Qcell mobile lanyards and Qcell sim-cards, Qcell credit, Qcell calculators, Qcell caps, Qcell t-shirts, Qcell pens, Qcell lanyards, second, third and fourth prices are also going to be awarded. The winning house will be also be awarded a latest brand new DELL computer, with Qcell routers and a Qcell data card with a month free internet access.

At the end of the first phase, the second phase will bring together winning houses regionally to compete and the third and National Grand Final will bring together the winners of the regional competition.

Madam Minister, PS, Principals and students, you will agree with me that this will encourage the competition spirit not only among students but also among schools throughout the country. This is Qcell SUNU BUSS’s vision. We have to train the young to be competitive not only nationally but internationally as we are living in a global world. As partners in development, we would always endeavor to going into ventures which will put the Gambia on the map and we cannot do that if products from our schools cannot compete at the global level.

At this junction, I would seize this opportunity to thank all the stakeholders of this very important industry starting from the government of the Gambia through our leader H. E the president of the Gambia and also the minister of Basic and Secondary Education for creating the enabling environment and giving young Gambians like us the opportunity to contribute out quota to the development of our country, the Gambia. A big thank you to our partners the media houses present here today, and to my staff for dedication and commitment to the vision of building and maintaining the best and cheapest GSM network in the Gambia.

To our valuable customers, I would like to sincerely thank you for your continued patronage and support over the past years. You have given us the courage to keep striving for more products and service to keep you happy. Without you, Qcell would not have existed. Finally for our future customers who will be joining us soon, we welcome you to the Qcell SUNU BUSS family and assure you of the best services at the cheapest rates.

For his part Babucarr Bouy, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education said for either spoken or written English to be mastered spelling should be good. He added that Qcell came with the initiative with a view to enable students master their spellings, thus urging people to support Qcell in improving education service delivery.

Bouy said the competition would also help students in excelling in the areas of Information Technology as they would be presented with lap tops or computers at the end of the competition. Permanent Secretary Bouy admitted that there are weaknesses in English in primary, secondary and senior secondary schools. He said the competition is another opportunity for schools to know their weaknesses and strength and not in isolation as they will compare themselves with other schools.