The Zimbabwe Open University has won an international star for Leadership in Quality Award.

The award, given in London on 24 November, came from Business Initiative Directions (BID) based in Paris, France.

ZOU was conferred the International Star for Leadership in Quality Award in the Gold Category. ZOU Vice Chancellor Dr Primrose Kurasha said in a statement that the special award was not for ZOU only, but for Zimbabwe as the country with the highest literacy level in Africa. "The award was for customer satisfaction, communication strategies, benchmarking, information and data analysis, leadership, planning and decision making, human resources, continuing education and training, financial outcomes, business results," she said.

"ZOU is the only university in Africa to win this award. BID CEO Jose Prieto noted that the awarded companies were symbols of commitment to leadership, technology and innovation, making them models for others in their sectors. "The ZOU family is honoured to receive this award after recently receiving an Appreciation Award at the 24th Graduation Ceremony of the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) that was held on the 27th of October 2012."

Dr Kurasha said the International Star Award for Quality (ISAQ) is one of the most prestigious awards in the world recognising the quality and excellence of those companies that invest and strive for the improvement of products and services. The ISAQ was established in 1986 by BID and is awarded on the basis of the guidelines of the QC100, supported by the BID Quality Mix Programme.

The International Star for Leadership in Quality Award recognises the success of those companies or organisations who strive to improve company quality and who pledge to serve as an example within their business community.