MTN Nigeria senior manager, external relations Funso Aina has been named Innovator of the Year in the brands category at the SABRE IN2 awards.
Awarded since 2013, 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.
Mr Aina’s recognition was announced by Provoke Media on February 15, 2023.
He was presented with the award at the PRovoke EMEA Summit in Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten Frankfurt, Germany on Thursday, March 23.
Aina, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), and a corporate communication professional with over two decades of experience emerged top across Europe, the Middle East and the African region (EMEA).
Speaking on the recognition, the 1992 history graduate of the University of Ilorin said “I am grateful for the recognition from SABRE and its dedication to acknowledging exceptional content produced by modern PR professionals. 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.”
Prior to joining MTN Nigeria in 2009, he was communications manager at the British Council, assistant editor with The Nation newspapers, chief correspondent with Punch newspapers, and senior reporter with Independent Communications Network Limited (ICNL), publishers of TheNews, Tempo and PMNews.
Aina, who also bagged a master’s degree in international relations from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in 1998, was named ‘Most Influential Public relations professional in Nigeria’ by the industry regulator NIPR in 2022.
