Funso Aina becomes first African to win ‘Innovator of the Year’ at SABRE Awards

Funso Aina, senior manager, external relations, MTN Nigeria, has been named  “Innovator of the Year” in the brands category at the 2023 SABRE IN2 Awards, considered as the Grammy of the PR industry.

He is the first African to win in this category.

According to the organisers, the SABRE IN2 Awards recognise excellent work that highlights the expanding scope of the PR profession, from content creation to the evaluation process using data and analytics to inform, enhance and evaluate campaign successes across the globe.

The award was presented to Aina at the PRovoke EMEA Summit in Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten Frankfurt, Germany on Thursday, March 23, 2023.

Aina was recognised for his efforts in media relations through MTN Nigeria’s Media Innovation Programme (MIP), a six-month certificate programme for Nigerian media practitioners to increase the knowledge and skill base of the participants, help them understand the changing media landscape and how to effectively use technology to create impactful media content in the country and Africa at large.

Reacting to the award, Aina said it would serve as an inspiration for himself and others at MTN to strengthen contributions towards sustainable development in the media landscape.

“I am grateful for the recognition from SABRE and its dedication to acknowledging exceptional content produced by modern PR professionals,” Aina said.

“This award is inspiring for all of us at MTN; it emboldens our commitment to improving the media landscape and implementing our ‘Good Together’ initiative.

“I am convinced we still have feats to achieve in the industry, and with strategic thinking, we will cover even more grounds.”

Funso Aina is a public relations and corporate communications professional with close to three decades of multi-sectoral experience in telecommunications, cultural diplomacy, and journalism.

In 2021, he won the award for “Best in Crisis Management” at the sixth edition of the Lagos state PR Industry Gala and Award (LaPRIGA).

At MTN Nigeria, he is responsible for leading strategy and driving targeted engagement with the company’s critical stakeholders.