Paul Owusu, a clearing agent with a private company at Tema Port, like many young people juggling the daily hustle never imagined himself winning anything in a major national promotion, especially one as big as Telecel’s 2Moorch Money promo.

The Dansoman resident said through constant receipt of messages encouraging him to join the promo and seeing multiple advertisements, he decided to opt in for the fun of it and prove that he will not win anything.

“I wasn’t interested at first because how can I win cash rewards for staying active on the network when there are people who buy way more airtime and bundles than I do?” Paul quizzed.

When the winning call came, Paul was still overwhelmed with doubt. “I thought it was a scam. I didn’t believe it. The Telecel official asked me, ‘Are you not happy?’ and I said, ‘I am,’ but deep down, I was still unsure.”

What followed next was Paul’s transformation into a ‘Verifier-in-Chief.’ He went straight into investigator mode and texted Telecel’s fraud reporting line to enquire, called customer service helpline to confirm, and visited the Dansoman retail shop for in-person checks, all in his quest to verify the authenticity of the call.

Paul’s final step was checking the official announcement phone number in the terms and conditions section published on the promo page of the Telecel Play app, which matched the number that had called him - 0203000004. “That’s when I knew it was legit,” he said.

Soon after, he was invited to the official prize presentation at the Kasoa New Market.  Paul didn’t let the money sit idle. He has already invested over half into fixed deposits at his bank, upgraded his iPhone, and made interior improvements at his home.

“When I got there and received the GH¢20,000 in my Telecel Cash account, I was so excited. I will tell everyone that it’s real. It’s the grace of God and a game of probability. You don’t lose anything by activating. Just use your normal airtime and bundle and you could win too. Now everyone in my circle has joined. I’m still aiming for that GH¢1.2 million,” Paul added.

For Abigail Ofori-Boateng, a mother of three, her house in Ejisu, which sits outside of Kumasi, erupted into a bundle of screams when the Telecel representative announced her win on phone.

“I was getting ready for work when the call came. She said I had won GH¢20,000. I screamed so loud my children came running and joined in. We just kept screaming.”

An administrator at Herp Conservation Ghana, a non-profit into the protection of endangered animals in the Ashanti Region, Abigail said she opted in after seeing the promo messages regularly but never gave winning much thought.

“I got several texts a day about the promo and just activated. But I honestly had zero hope of winning. Even when I told people at work, nobody believed me. Until I showed them the money in my Telecel Cash account and photos from the event. Now all my friends who doubted me have joined too.”

Abigail didn’t splurge the weekly prize money. Instead, she made smart financial moves. “I’ve bought shares in some listed companies. I want the money to grow. I didn’t want to waste it. It’s easier to blow money you’ve not worked so hard for, so I had to make that hard decision. The promo is real. Just activate, recharge and you could be the next winner.

Launched in June, the Telecel 2Moorch Money promo has gained unexpected momentum, drawing in more than a million active participants and distributed over GH¢1.1million to 57 customers in weekly prizes and about GH¢722,000 to over 7,200 participants in daily prizes as of Friday, 8^th August. Daily and weekly winners have emerged from all 16 regions of Ghana over the last two months of the campaign.

Each day, 120 Telecel users win GH¢100 and up to eight lucky customers win GH¢20,000, with the crown jewel of GH¢1.2 million up for grabs at the end of September.

Aneth Muga, Director of Consumer Business at Telecel Ghana, said the responses from customers has been overwhelmingly rewarding.

“The 2Moorch Money promo is our way of giving back to the people who power Telecel as a network, which is the average Ghanaian customer. We have heard so many inspiring stories, including from students, market women, mechanics, and corporate professionals, whose lives have changed because of this promo. It’s proof that when you believe and activate, incredible things can happen,” Aneth said.

Open to all active Telecel users, including enterprise customers, Telecel users can opt in by simply dialing *500#, sending ‘WIN’ to 500 or activating it via the Telecel Play app. Subscribers can then increase their winning chances by purchasing airtime, bundles, or making transactions with their Telecel Cash accounts.

“There’s always that feeling that these things are for other people. Nothing like this ever happens to people like me. I’ve learned that sometimes it’s okay to take a little leap and have faith, even if it’s just by activating your line and staying active,” Paul said.