During Customer Service Week 2026… Orange Sierra Leone Champions Culture of Going the Extra Mile for Customers

Orange Sierra Leone officially launched Customer Service Week 2026 on Monday, 5th October 2026, under the theme “Going the Extra Mile!”, reaffirming its commitment to delivering exceptional customer service, strengthening customer relationships and promoting a culture of excellence across its operations. The official launch, held at the Orange Digital Centre, Hill Station, Freetown, brought together employees, customers, regulators and business partners to celebrate the importance of quality service and recognize the contributions of those working to improve customer satisfaction.

Throughout the weeklong celebration, Orange Sierra Leone organized a series of activities aimed at appreciating dedicated employees, engaging customers and strengthening partnerships with key stakeholders. The initiative also provided an opportunity for the telecommunications company to reinforce its commitment to responsiveness, innovation and customer-focused service delivery.

Delivering the welcome address, Agnes M. Songa of Orange Sierra Leone’s Human Resources Department described the week as an opportunity to appreciate employees, strengthen relationships and celebrate the people whose daily efforts support the company’s operations.

“This week is entirely about you. You are the heartbeat of this company, the human face of our brand and you are the heroes who turn complex challenges into seamless solutions,” she said.

She also recognized customers as an important part of Orange’s growth, saying their feedback challenges the company to improve and innovate. She encouraged employees to recognize colleagues, share success stories and reflect on their contribution to the organization’s achievements.

Chief Executive Officer of Orange Sierra Leone, Aïcha Touré, challenged employees to put customers at the centre of every decision and interaction, stressing that the company exists because of the people it serves.

“Customers don’t see our organization, our departments or our processes. They see Orange,” Aïcha Touré said.

She explained that customers judge the company through their overall experience. When the network works, services are easy to use and concerns are addressed promptly, customers associate those positive experiences with Orange. Likewise, service failures are viewed as a reflection of the company.

Aïcha Touré described the campaign “My Customer, My Boss” as more than a slogan, saying it should become a mindset across the organization. She stressed that customer service is the responsibility of every employee, regardless of department.

“Whether you work in technology, finance, HR, sales, IT, marketing, legal or any other function, you contribute to the customer experience,” she said.

She identified faster responses, simpler processes, careful listening, problem-solving and taking ownership of customer concerns until they are resolved as practical ways of going the extra mile.

“Being here for good means being there for our customers, listening to them, keeping our promises and constantly challenging ourselves to do better,” she said.

Director of Customer Experience, David Mansaray, said customer experience is often created through small gestures that make customers feel valued, heard and understood.

“Most of that work happens silently, without much recognition. Today, it gives us an opportunity to celebrate those individuals, to tell them that we see you, we appreciate you and we thank you,” he said.

He emphasized that customer service remains fundamentally about people serving people, despite the increasing role of technology and automated systems. He called for a culture of care in which employees listen to customers and continuously seek better ways of serving them.

He said the week should therefore be used not only to celebrate achievements but also to identify areas requiring improvement. Employees, he noted, should carry the lessons from the campaign into their daily responsibilities and remain committed to resolving customer concerns with urgency and professionalism. The celebrations are also expected to strengthen relationships among employees and stakeholders, creating opportunities for dialogue and shared learning. By bringing together teams, customers, regulators and partners, Orange Sierra Leone is seeking to reinforce a customer-focused culture in which service quality, responsiveness and trust remain central to the company’s relationship with the public.

Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency, David Borbor, used the occasion to highlight safe mobile money usage and stronger financial crime prevention.

David Borbor said mobile money has transformed Sierra Leone’s financial system by making it easier to send and receive money, pay bills and access financial services. However, he warned that the same systems can be exploited by fraudsters and criminals.

He explained that mobile money operators are reporting entities under the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework and are expected to report suspicious activities to the FIA.

David Borbor also warned about scams involving WhatsApp and mobile money, where criminals may compromise accounts, send emergency requests to contacts and move funds rapidly through several wallets.

He emphasized the importance of Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, saying reliable customer information can make it harder for criminals to conceal their identities and assist authorities in tracing suspicious activity.

He urged customers to protect their PINs, avoid sharing confidential information, independently verify requests for money and report suspected fraud quickly, noting that early reporting can improve opportunities to trace funds and prevent further movement.

“The message is not that you should not use mobile money. The message is: use it, trust it, but use it safely,” Borbor said.

Director of Cybersecurity Resilience at the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre, Richmond Redwood-Sawyerr, said the Customer Service Week theme also applies to cybersecurity, where going the extra mile requires organizations to prepare beyond routine expectations.

He said telecommunications companies such as Orange are critical to Sierra Leone’s digital economy because businesses and citizens depend on networks for communications, data and digital services.

“When your networks are secure, our digital economy is secure. When they are attacked, everything, from businesses to public services,is affected,” he said.

Redwood-Sawyerr called for stronger information-sharing between telecommunications operators and the NC3, including indicators of compromise, attack patterns and emerging threats.

He urged operators to maintain designated cybersecurity contacts, documented escalation procedures and tested incident-response plans, emphasizing that the first hours after a cyber incident can significantly influence its outcome.

“Our goal is a response that is fast, joined-up and not improvised,” he said.

He encouraged joint simulation exercises and stronger collaboration, stressing that compliance should be treated as a minimum while genuine resilience should remain the standard.

“Going the extra mile means acting before we are asked, sharing before we are compelled, and preparing before we are tested,” he said.

Director of Regulatory Administration at the National Communications Authority, Smart Ibrahim Kokofele, assured Orange and other telecommunications stakeholders that the regulator was prepared to go beyond its conventional responsibilities in supporting the industry and protecting consumers.

Smart Ibrahim Kokofele said NaTCA had planned nationwide engagements aimed at providing additional guidance to consumers and invited Orange to participate.

He identified quality of service, network coverage and affordability as three major factors influencing customer choice and the competitiveness of telecommunications operators.

He acknowledged that disagreements between regulators and operators can occur, but called for constructive engagement and solutions that protect consumers while allowing telecommunications businesses to operate sustainably.