Leading Kenyan mobile phone operator Safaricom was named Africa’s Telecoms Company of the Year at the African Business Awards 2010 held
in London on Monday evening.

Safaricom which is also East Africa’s most profitable company topped a keenly-contested final short list that featured other telecoms operators on the continent like Gateway Communications and Globacom Mobile, both of Nigeria, Mobinil of Egypt and Ghana’s Tigo.

“It is all the more befitting as Safaricom was chosen ahead of several peers from all over Africa,” said Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph in a statement issued in Nairobi on Tuesday.

Based on its latest annual results, the firm made a pre-tax return of 21 billion shillings ($259 million)

The firm’s globally-acknowledged money transfer, M-PESA has seen the service benefit over 15 million subscribers in Kenya.

The winners for the African Business Awards are chosen from consultations with multilateral agencies, the editorial board of African Business magazine and experts from the Commonwealth Business Council.