For her immense contributions in the PR and communications space of the telecommunication industry, Gifty Bingley, the Director of Corporate Communications & Responsibility at Tigo Ghana has been named the 2014 PR Discovery of the Year at the prestigious Institute of Public Relations Awards held at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra on 20th November 2015.

The PR Discovery of the Year award is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the corporate communications function of an organization and the country as a whole. It honors individuals who championed or pioneered the establishment of a communications function within the year in review and added significant value to the organizations they work with.

Every year, the Institute of Public Relations, celebrates excellence in the Public Relations practice in Ghana, and for the 4th Excellence IPR Awards convened under the theme: “Public Relations and Peaceful Elections: My Role, Your Role.”

Commenting on the award, Gifty Bingley said: “I’m incredibly honoured to receive this award. Thanks to my amazing team for all their work and creativity; the leadership team of Tigo Ghana for giving me the platform to execute bold ideas, and all the phenomenal hard individuals I have met over the span of my career that have helped me to focus, grow and excel.”

In July 2014, Gifty founded Tigo’s Corporate Communications and Responsibility function and over the course of a year, made significant impact by telling Tigo’s story across multiple channels and to various stakeholders, helping reinforce the company’s position as a Digital Lifestyle brand.

With her deep understanding and expertise in Development Management, Gifty developed ground-breaking CSR initiatives that have impacted Tigo’s brand in a positive way – customers perceive it as a solutions provider to their dire communications needs, and the work culture makes it attractive to top talent.

Gifty’s top initiatives include, Shelter 4 Education – which involved the construction of four brand new schools and the renovation of two others in rural Ghana; and Ghana’s first Mobile Digital Library – a mobile van retrofitted with laptops and kindles which brings the reading experience to children in some of the poorest parts of the country.

These concepts led to the company winning the ‘Best CSR Company of the Year’ at the 2015 Ghana Telecom Awards and CSR Telecom Company of the Year at the Ghana CSR Excellence Awards 2015.

Gifty has double Masters Degrees in Political Communication from University of Leeds; and Development Management from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). She’s an alumna of the Ghana Institute of Journalism and a member of both the Charted Institute of Public Relations, CIPR, UK and the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana.