Grameenphone CellBazaar wins Global Award

The 3GSMA Global Mobile Awards – the ‘Oscars’ of an industry that serves a third of the world’s population – represents a stage for all players in the mobile world to attract the attention of their peers and the global media.

Environmental benefits through reduced travel

Grameenphone (GP) CellBazaar is a “great initiative – full marks for self-sustainability. This grass root level initiative is not only for operators to make money but for rural folks to sell and trade their goods and increased price transparency and help for the illiterate is also available. It has clear environmental benefits through reduced travel,” the Award Judges said in their citation.

Another global recognition of GP’s innovative spirit

“CellBazaar is a great example of Grameenphone’s continued leadership in simple, smart and customer relevant innovation,” noted Grameenphone CEO Anders Jensen. “This award along with the awards GP previously won for HealthLine and Village Phone are a global recognition of the spirit of innovation within Grameenphone. I congratulate CellBazaar and its excellent team for this achievement.”

Using mobile phone to trade basic goods

Using Grameenphone CellBazaar, buyers and sellers are able to trade basic goods (eg, rice, fish, motorcycle, used goods) from their mobile phones, bringing the benefits of information exchange, community networking and one-to-many trading to a previously unwired rural population.

User-generated market and low cost service

Grameenphone CellBazaar is a user-generated market, accessible via mobile phone or computers in Bangladesh. It is a low cost, pay-as-you-use service where users pay the standard SMS or GPRS charges for accessing the service. There are no monthly or posting fees.

Influence of mobile communications

“Each year, as the influence of mobile communications spreads further to enhance more and more aspects of people’s lives, the scope of the Awards become greater, and the competition becomes more intense as a result. Many of tonight’s winners reflect that premise, and as we celebrate 20 years since the foundations for global mobile communication were laid, they demonstrate not only how far we have come, but also the limitless possibilities of where innovation and inspiration can take us in the years ahead,” observed GSM Association CEO Rob Conway.

GP’s second Global Mobile Award

The other four nominees in the same category with CellBazaar were: Grameen Foundation for Village Phone Direct; Motorola for solar & wind powered GSM macro cell site; Nokia Siemens Networks for Village Connection; and Safaricom for M-PESA.

Last year, in February 2007, Grameenphone was presented with the 3GSMA Global Mobile Award 2007 for its HealthLine service in the category of “Best Use of Mobile for Social & Economic Development,” and was awarded the “GSM in the Community Award” for its Village Phone program in February 2000.

Read related article about HealthLine Grammenphone wins global award

For more information, please contact:

Esben Tuman, Communications Director, Telenor Asia
Email: esben@telenor.com , mob.: +66 859 184 111