ROLE PLAYERS 2017 - Donald Gwira


Donald Gwira

Director of Corporate Affairs
Afriwave Telecom Ghana Limited

Donald Gwira is a professional with a strong background in development and corporate communications, advocacy and project management. He joined Afriwave Telecom in 2015 as Director of Corporate Affairs from Airtel Ghana where he was the head of Corporate Communications, External Affairs and CSR. In 2014, he was awarded the PR Discovery of the Year at the 3rd Public Relations Excellence Awards.

Passionate about CSR, Donald drove award-winning initiatives that were sustainable, empowering, "Green" friendly and is aligned with the values of the business which he advocates are essential for sustainable CSR. Before joining Airtel, he managed the Corporate Communications function at Guinness Ghana Breweries Ltd for three years where in his last year, he drove the Water of Life project providing potable water to over 100,000 people. Prior to Guinness and for a decade, he managed development projects in Guinea – Conakry, Mali and The Gambia as well as being the Communications Manager and Advocacy Champion for West Africa for Sightsavers International (Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind). In 2004, he was recognized as part of 36 exemplary leaders in a book entitled Leading Coherently: Reflections from Leaders around the World. "As communications expert, he led the public relations effort across West Africa to get the word out about the prevention and cure of blindness. His creativity and "way with words" was effective in making the gift of sight a high priority for those within reach of his information campaigns". Authored by Nancy Stanford-Blair and Michael Dickmann, this book has become one of the reading materials for students of communications and leadership across the world.

Donald holds a Bachelor's degree in International Affairs from American University in Paris, France and a Master's degree in Political Science, majoring in International Relations and a minor in Comparative Politics (Africa) from Howard University in the USA.