Airtel, a telecommunications provider, is celebrating Customer Service Week with a renewed commitment to delivering exceptional customer experience. The weeklong annual celebration highlights Airtel’s dedication to recognizing and appreciating its customers, who are at the heart of the company’s operations.

Speaking at the launch of Customer Service Week, during a groupwide Employee Townhall, Airtel Africa CEO, Sunil Taldar, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to providing superior experience and enhancing the customer journey across all touchpoints.

“At Airtel, our customers are at the heart of everything we do; they are the reason we exist. Our commitment to delivering excellence in customer experience is unwavering, and we continue to invest in innovative solutions and dedicated teams to meet and exceed customer expectations,” said Mr. Taldar.

During the Week, all employees across the functions are encouraged to go out in the field to engage with our customers to understand their expectations and engage with the customer-facing teams to know how best to support them to serve the customers.

Key Initiatives for Customer Service Excellence:

1. Enhanced Digital Platforms: Airtel continues to upgrade its digital platforms, making it easier for customers to access services, resolve issues, and provide feedback.
2. 24/7 Customer Support: The company has strengthened its customer service team, providing round-the-clock support through multiple channels, including phone, chat, and social media.
3. Personalized Customer Engagement: Airtel is leveraging data and analytics to offer personalized solutions, ensuring each customer’s needs are met promptly and effectively.
4. Customer Feedback Integration: The company actively listens to customer feedback and incorporates suggestions into service improvements, reinforcing its customer-first approach.

“Our goal is to be the most customer-centric telecommunications company, where every interaction leaves our customers delighted and valued. This Customer Service Week is not just about celebrating our customers but also about recommitting ourselves to the highest standards of service excellence,” the CEO added.

As Airtel continues to drive innovation and expand its offerings, the company remains focused on building lasting relationships with its over 160m customers in its 14 markets in Africa, ensuring they remain at the core of its strategic decisions.

Vodafone and Google on Tuesday announced a ten-year strategic expansion of their existing partnership to bring new services, devices, and TV experiences to millions of Vodafone’s customers across Europe and Africa, supported by Google Cloud and Google’s Gemini models.

The agreement will bring storage, security, and AI assistance to Vodafone’s customers in 15 countries, as well as its partners in an additional 45 markets worldwide, while Google will use Vodafone’s fixed and mobile connectivity services to improve workforce productivity.

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group chief executive, said: “Together, Vodafone and Google will put new AI-powered content and devices into the hands of millions of more consumers. Using these services, our customers can discover new ways to learn, create and communicate, as well as consume TV, on a scale we haven’t seen before.”

“Our expanded partnership with Vodafone will help bring our most advanced AI products and services, including our Gemini models, to more people across Europe and Africa,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. “I’m excited to see how Vodafone’s consumers, small businesses and governments, will use generative AI and Google Cloud to transform the way they work and access information.”

Leading the Way in Enhanced Consumer Experiences

A key focus of the Vodafone and Google partnership is to help consumers take advantage of the latest hardware and digital technologies, including AI and cloud-based applications. Vodafone and Google will work together to improve and expand the range of products and services available in stores and online, supported with a refreshed customer experience rooted in the benefits of AI. Google and Vodafone are working towards enabling Vodafone to offer YouTube subscription-based products and Google One subscription plans, such as storage plans and AI Premium plans to consumers, in addition to offering a range of Pixel and other Android devices.

Vodafone and Google will work towards enhancing Vodafone TV (which is powered by Android TV), using Google Cloud’s advanced gen AI capabilities to provide additional content discovery features, rewards, and offers, as well as content monetization with Google Ad Manager to deliver a better ads experience. The teams are also exploring a more deeply-integrated YouTube experience across Vodafone TV devices.

Digital Transformation & Security: Powered by Google Cloud’s gen AI

Vodafone and Google Cloud already have a strong track record of collaboration. The companies have worked together to create a data repository (data lake) that houses Vodafone’s data and its existing AI and data analytics services on Google Cloud to ensure maximum security and adherence to legal requirements. With the expanded partnership, Vodafone will use Vertex AI, Google Cloud’s enterprise-ready  AI platform, to build, deploy, and scale machine learning models and AI applications powered by Google’s Gemini models. This will help increase the speed and ease with which Vodafone’s operating companies in multiple countries can innovate and launch new products.

Through this partnership, Vodafone aims to offer its business customers enhanced cyber protection with its own soon-to-be-developed cloud-native cybersecurity solution, utilising Google Cloud’s Security Operations platform. It will provide security incident and event management, as well as the latest software-based protection tools. Vodafone will also use Google Cloud’s Security Operations platform when developing certain products and services to further ensure that they are secure by design to help keep customers safe online.

Both companies intend to jointly promote the use of universal industry standards in areas such as online safety, responsible AI development, network performance, and interoperability to drive economies of scale in industrial efficiency, boost innovation, and improve public services at scale. Through this partnership, Vodafone will put AI-powered cloud, content, and connectivity into the hands of more people.

MTN Apple Music’s Flexa Bundle has revolutionized the way we enjoy music and podcasts in Nigeria. This innovative package allows customers to stream their favourite songs, providing unlimited access to various songs, playlists, and podcasts. With MTN’s Apple Flexa Bundle, customers can easily subscribe or renew their Apple Music subscription using mobile airtime.

MTN is committed to making music and entertainment accessible to everyone. That’s why they’ve partnered with Apple Music to bring you the best podcasts and music at an affordable price.

In this story, we’re highlighting the top five Nigerian podcasts currently rocking the Apple Music charts board:

• I Said What I Said

The unapologetically bold podcast is rocking the Apple Music charts. Hosted by Feyikemi Abudu and Jola Ayeye, this dynamic duo delivers honest and humorous discussions on everything from pop culture to relationships, all with a Nigerian perspective. Feyikemi and Jola have captured the hearts of listeners, making “I Said What I Said” a top podcast on the Apple Music chart board.

• The Honest Bunch Podcast:

A popular show by Glitch Africa that focuses on real issues affecting millennials and Gen Z. It is known for its unscripted conversations. The podcast features four main personalities – Nedu, Husband Material, Toun, and Ezinne., With a rotating panel of guests, they discuss topics like mental health, career struggles, and lifestyle, providing a platform for raw and honest discussions.

• The Uncut Podcast:

Formally called the BTS Podcast, is a fun and honest show hosted by Beatrice, Tammy, and Sharon. They are best friends who talk about current topics in a playful way. Every Monday, they release new episodes where they give real advice on tough situations and chat about pop culture. Their podcast is becoming more popular and is ranking high on the Apple Music charts.

• So Nigerian:

I’m Nigerian, of course, I… This trend shines no better than on So Nigerian, a podcast discussing the random worries of the average Nigerian mind from a comical point of view. If you enjoy some alone time after a stressful day, have no one to go out with during the weekdays, or just need some buzzing to keep your ears busy while you cook, hosts Aros and Isaac are those two buddies you need to remind you that life is not hard through their chaotic banter.

• 234 Essential:

Hop on the adventure with AOT2 and Ugochi as they chat about pop culture, music, movies, and more. 234 Essential Podcast dips into Nigerian pop culture with a twist. They don’t just talk about the latest social media buzz, they provide historical and social context to give you a deeper understanding of what’s trending online.

With MTN Apple Music Flexa Bundle you can enjoy the best of Nigerian podcasting, six months of free Apple Music subscription, access to millions of songs, and playlists, offline listening and streaming, and Data bundles for streaming.

To sign up, simply visit the MTN Play portal, use the myMTN app on your mobile device, or visit the official MTN website at www.mtn.ng. or “Music 1” to 8000 or dial *305*8# or *312*1*9# to select your preferred bundle plan.