12th Africa ICT AwardsWinners Have EmergedSee the Winners
ICT Champion Award Winners
Mr Samwel Kinuthia Kariuki
Name: Mr Samwel Kinuthia KariukiDesignation: Cyber Security and Networks Expert
Nationality: Nairobi, Kenya
Following the training of more than 2,000 students and community members last year, Cisco Academy recognized him as the second-best-performing instructor in Kenya for 2023. He has mentored over 100 innovators, and this year, he participated in the third edition of the ATU Innovation Challenge, which helped his university secure second place and win $10,000 USD. He has persistently guided students and currently holds a patron role in the ITech Community, managing more than 20 clubs at Zetech University. The ITECh club received the accolade of best university club of 2024 for its significant contributions to mentorship, training, and innovations.
His outstanding contributions to training and mentoring secured him a place in the Oracle Academy member spotlight for 2023. Moreover, he serves as a trustee for the Internet Society Kenya Chapter. In March of this year, he organized a user acceptance day that was hosted at Zetech University. As part of the ISOC team, he provided training to over 300 community members. To support the event, he and the ISOC-Kenya team applied for and received USD 2000 from the ICANN User Acceptance Steering group, of which he is a member of two working groups.
In March 2024, he successfully introduced and implemented PearsonVue testing centres at Zetech University, where he oversaw the administration of more than 100 exams from various industry providers to secure his trainee's certification this year.
Lastly, Kariuki, a member of the African Regional At-Large Organisation (AFRALO),He has participated as a pen holder in drafting AFRALO Statement Presented in ICANN meetings, he recently participated in the AFRALO ICANN80 Planning Committee for the ICANN meeting that took place in Kigali, Rwanda, in June 2024
Dr Vincent Olatunji
Designation: The National Commissioner/CEO, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC)
Nationality: FCT, Nigeria
Dr. Vincent Olatunji engineered a data protection ecosystem in Nigeria that has created thousands of jobs and become a veritable example of such an ecosystem in Africa and around the world. He has also showcased significant experience in team building, research activities, policy development, and strategic planning on various development initiatives across the three tiers of government in Nigeria.
linkedin.com/in/vincent-olatunji-701a23214
ICT Personality Award Winners
Mr Muli Mutuku
Name: Mr Muli MutukuDesignation: ICT Specialist
Nationality: Kenya
Dr Khaled El attar
Designation: Ex-Vice Minister - Digital Transformation, Automation and Administrative Development
Nationality: Cairo, Egypt
• The National Data Warehouse and Knowledgebase (Artificial Intelligence Layer) integrating over 80 databases and creating citizen and commercial entities unified registries (nationwide).
• The unified government services platform “Digital Egypt Platform” (digital.gov.eg) with over 9 million registrations and 50 million transactions.
• The Digital Egypt Platform 2.0 is in its soft launch, taking into consideration the concept of common components and building blocks to standardize its implementation and knowledge sharing in other countries.
• The Universal Healthcare Insurance coverage serving around 5 million citizens achieving HIMS level 2 in around 300 connected healthcare establishments. The plan of rollout will extend to all governorates over the coming 10 years.
• The law enforcement digital solution connecting all justice related agencies leading to significant improvements in enforcement rates.
• Digitizing the country map and putting the building, units and streets and assigning a preliminary Real-estate National ID for almost 80% of the above.
• Digitalizing the management of state-owned assets including lands, buildings, units and shops to manage the different exchange and rental interactions for over 1 million assets.
• Designing and leading the effort to create a unified services and payment card for Egyptian citizens. The pilot was in coordination with VISA and implemented in Port Said. The plan for the rollout for the entire country will take around 10 years in coordination with the Unified Healthcare Insurance Program.
• Designing and implementing the unified Farmer’s Card to manage agricultural policies and the distribution of agriculture subsidy.
• Automating government agencies for example Notarization, Government subsidies, commercial entities, real estate registrations, family affairs.
• Building and operating a single government service bus with over 40 million messages exchange every month and over 50 connected agencies.
• Building a unified digital network connecting most of the government agencies and the banking system.
• Led the team for building the Egyptian government private cloud.
• The electronic census project in 2017 as the fourth country to do that worldwide with over 45 K tablets connected for citizens and buildings counting.
• Contributing in setting Egypt Artificial Intelligence Strategy.
• Launching of the GovTech Innovation Lab where startups and SME’s will use the government APIs to build life-event based digital solutions.
• Developing the e-waste ecosystem form collection, recycling, and dealing with the hazardous materials in collaboration with the Swiss Government.
• Led multilateral negotiation for cooperation with other countries in digital transformation, for example Cote Devoir
Africa CIO Award Winner
Mr Adesegun Orafidiya
Name: Mr Adesegun OrafidiyaDesignation: CIO & Head of Information & Digital Technology, British America Tobacco
Nationality: Lagos, Nigeria
PROVIDING STERLING LEADERSHIP; DELIVERED STRONG BUSINESS RESULTS
Adesegun has had a robust career in depth and breadth of the IT profession, spanning 2 decades and various roles, working across multi-geography and multi-cultural environments with responsibilities across locations in Africa, Middle East, Americas, Eastern Europe, Turkey & Central Asia.
Adesegun is currently the CIO/ Head of Information & Digital Technology, and a member of the executive leadership team, West and Central Africa at British American Tobacco. He holds the accountability for all aspects of information and digital technology, from business/ IT strategy alignment, portfolio prioritisation, resource & budget, people leadership etc.
As a qualified Digital/Agile Transformation expert, Adesegun has applied his knowledge and skills to lead the organisation through a successful transformation across Americas & Sub-Saharan Africa. Influencing business leaders and shaping the transformation agenda. Engaged in several functional and org-wide presentations to set the case and gain alignment for the transformation journey. Created and nurtured several Agile teams across the organisation. Led learning and capability development and innovation mindset and delivery.
SELECTED ACHIEVEMENTS
Recorded significant success on digital/ agile transformation journey through leadership and drive of and agile/ digital culture across the organisation. Delivered sessions to leadership team and entire organisation to establish the case & context, led development & delivery of the transformation roadmap, developed & delivered a communication/ change management plan, delivered roadshows to showcase wins along the journey, created & nurtured over 20 agile teams etc.
In 2.5 years, the business moved from a digital quotient (DQ) score of ~2.3 (running the business with technology) to a DQ score of 4.0 (transforming the business with technology), based on organisational-wide survey responses and business impact. According to the Gartner’s framework of digital transformation maturity.
• Raising Innovation education through org-wide Talk Shows and led the team to deliver smarter business process through automation and innovation across Finance, Supply Chain, Manufacturing & Marketing. Commercial impact of significant cost savings (~£1.2m) and efficiencies delivered (~500k hrs. saved) and leveraging the power of data (for faster & more accurate decision making) through digitalisation.
Transformed the consumer engagement landscape through the digital consumer engagement and data collection platform and CRM. This is driving communication and meaningful interactions with the company’s brand and providing authentic data for consumer insight and strategic business decision-making and targeted marketing campaigns. Increased number of consumers in the CRM database from ~200k to 1.2m in 18 months.
Delivered data analytics platform for key business data insights around sales performance, manufacturing and supply chain efficiency, financial operations performance etc. Resulted in the elimination due to human error, faster means of reporting, real-time update for leadership decisions, greater transparency, and accountability etc. This has become a key input to the leadership team meetings across the organisations – Sales & Operations Planning, Demand Review Meeting, Operations Review Meeting etc,
• Commercial digitisation – Revolutionising the Trade universe, reshaping our Route to Market/ business model for commercial advantage while creating value for our Trade partners.: This project was embarked on to revolutionize the retail space, enhance operational efficiency, and improve customer satisfaction. By revamping the digital ordering process and integrating digital payments, and facilitating retail credit, we have created a more transparent, secure, and efficient system for our retail partners. These advancements not only meet industry standards but also position BAT as a leader in innovative retail solutions. Through these efforts, we are committed to driving sustainable growth and building stronger relationships with our retail partners.
• Project proteus - Driving Supply Chain Optimisation & Efficiencies through Automation & Data: Project Protheus significantly enhances efficiency by automating vehicular management processes, leading to quicker turnaround times and higher productivity. It ensures data accuracy and integrity by reducing human error, while also integrating safety checks/protocols to comply with EHS standards, thereby minimizing risks and incident rates in the factory. The system streamlines communication across departments through a centralized portal, facilitates real-time vehicle tracking for efficient resource management, and yields cost savings. Additionally, cloud-based data storage ensures accessibility from any location, offering audit trails and historical information. The anticipated 50% increase in productivity and 40% reduction in safety incidents further underscore the commercial viability and strategic alignment of this project
• LOVE OUR CONSUMER – Driving meaningful engagement between our brands and consumers, leveraging the power of data: At BAT, we believe data is very important. Gamification of the consumer experience has been one of the most exciting and engaging strategies we have implemented. It has proven to be an effective way to connect with our consumers on a deeper level, making their interactions with our brand more enjoyable and rewarding. We have been able to grow our consumer database by 20% after deploying the gamification solution
INSPIRING THE IT PROFESSION AND BUSINESS COMMUNITIES THROUGH PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTS.
Adesegun is an established IT leader and inspires the professional community and public through speaking engagements and writing. Delivered impactful and insightful talks and writing.
• Public speaking – Agile Conference, 2023
• Public speaking – Canada Association of IT professionals, 2024.
• IDC CIO Summit, West Africa 2023 (panellist), CIPS etc.
• Advisory Council Member – IDC CIO Summit West Africa.
• Public Writing on Digital Transformation – CIO Magazine,2024.
• Public Writing on Digital Transformation - LinkedIn posts.
DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS
Adesegun gives back to the professional community through coaching and mentoring of the next generation of IT & business leaders. He is also an assessor for the British Computer Society (BCS) certifications.
• In BAT, coached and mentored professionals who have risen to senior positions within the IT profession.
• BCS Registered Mentor – coaching and mentoring to professional within the BCS community globally. Helping shape current IT professionals and practice while building future Global IT leaders.
• Certified BCS Assessor – An assessor for BCS professional certifications. Helping to shape and maintain the integrity of the IT profession, globally.
GREAT STANDING IN THE COMMUNITY - AWARDS AND RECOGNITION.
• Winner: CIO of the Year, 2023 – FMCG - https://thecioawards.ng/winners-2023/ - Awarded by CIO & C-Suites Award Africa.
• Winner: ‘EMPOWERMENT AWARD’, 2024 - given for Digital Transformation & Innovation Leadership – 2024 – Awarded by British American Tobacco Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Winner: Most Innovative Company Award, 2024 – Awarded by CIO Africa, by dx5 for leadership in innovation through technology and digital across Africa.
• Chartered IT Professional (CITP), 2005 – Awarded by the British Computer Society – Recognises senior members of the IT profession who have been able to demonstrate the depth and breadth of knowledge of IT and making an impact with the application of technology.
• Information Technology Certified Professional (ITCP), 2020 – Awarded by the Canada Association of IT professional (CIPS) – this designation recognises senior IT professionals and academics who have demonstrated an ability to apply their business and organisational experience in addition to their IT knowledge.
I would thrive when challenged by new IT ideas and innovative applications of technology Specialties:
IT infrastructure solutions in (Artificial intelligence / Internet of Things (IoT) / Machine learning / digital transformation ) , with all Microsoft Systems & Applications, Oracle Applications and SAP Applications.
- I have strong technical and business qualifications, i have experience with different industries including Hospitality, manufacturing, Fintech, Medical, Food, Travel and Booking, LMS , and E-commerce.
* I have experience in creating strategies, and road maps and executing projects and programs, running day-to-day operations, i have a unique mix of being familiar with large companies ، medium size and startups.
- I have strong knowledge Network Active and Passive components, Computer technical support and troubleshooting, Cisco, Mikrotik, Ubiquiti, Fortinet technologies, Microsoft Messaging Systems, hotel applications Wireless networks, (CCTV/IP) Cams, telephony systems(VoIP/PBX) any other used software, Identify current and future system needs and provide. Solutions to match them, fully understand the legal requirements on IT governance and security. For any IT projects costing/Planning will be an add-on to contributing to increasing the business value by developing the actions, E-commerce strategies and digital marketing to grow property revenues, Creating and maintaining the I.T Budgets, I.T JOB Descriptions, I.T-Operations guide, For a Long term vision and strategic plans to assist effectively running the Information technology operation in addition to growth the business markets results.
Africa Innovation Award Winners
Dr Amos Obi
Name: Dr Amos ObiDesignation: CEO, Hetaved Skills Academy for innovations and Entrepreneurship
Nationality: Delta, Nigeria
Dr. Amos Obi, Principal Innovator and CEO, The HETAVED SKILLS ACADEMY FOR INNOVATIONS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP, is a versatile and highly experienced with much evidence to be nominated as African Innovator of the year.,
Dr. Amos by his evidence based actions and activities, he has innovated on a number of systems that have benefited over 5 millions of Africans starting from Nigeria, As a serial innovator, he has such innovations with Patents Lenience from the Federal Government of Nigeria such as:
1- Mini Global Hetaved Skills Networks LTD
2- HETAVED SKILLS ACADEMY FOR INNOVATIONS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
3- VIRTUAL-TO-PHYSICAL ORGANIC GARDENING SYSTEMS
4- HETAVED ORGANIC FLOATING FISH FEED FROM ORGANIC WASTES
5- HETAVED ALKALINE WATER FOR PREVENTION AND CURE OF MOST HUMAN DISEASES
6- THE HETAVED GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE TOOL KITS AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT HUB
7- HETAVED DIGITO EDU-PRENEURSHIP HUB- A DIGITAL EDUCATION REVOLUTION HUB
8- SKILLS FOR SDGs-PRENEURSHIP- HOW TO TURN THE UN GLOBAL GOALS INTO SMALL SCALE BUSINESS
Some of those inventions and innovations by Dr. Amos Obi have been dully endorsed as:
1- STI- SCIENCE , TECHNOLOGY FOR THE UN SDGs
2- TVET- TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TRAINING BY THE AFRICAN UNION EDUCATIONAL UNIT
3- GENDER FRIENDLY INNOVATION FOR WEST AFRICA
4- DIGITAL GAME CHANGER FOR THE SDGs BY THE UN ITU
5- SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT -ED4SD BY THE UN SDSN
6- MB100- MEANINGFUL BUSINESS FOR THE 2030 GLOBAL AGENDA at https://meaningful.business/mb100-2019
Please, kindly refer to the social media handles at: https://www.instagram.com/hetavednetworks
2- -https;//www.facebook.com/hetavednetworks
3- https://www.youtube.com/c/AMOSAOBI
GLOBAL ENDORSEMENTS at: ENDORSEMENT BY THE UN SDSN AS ED4SD at at https://balancedlivingacademy.blogspot.com or https://blogs.upm.es/education4sdg/2021/08/04/sustainable-development-and-green-and-digital-enterprises-innovations/
AND ENDORSEMENT BY the UN ITU –INTERNATIONAL
TELECOMMUNICATION UNION AS A DIGITAL GAME CHANGER MODEL
FOR PROMOTING PROSPERITY GLOBALLY at:
https://www.itu.int/initiatives/sdgdigital/gamechangers-
award/prosperity/
With these evidences based and global endorsement, we hope our nominee, Dr.Amos Obi will be considered for this African Innovation awards to do more for the continent and humanity globally.
Ms Grace Kaimburi
Designation: Research Associate - Climate and AI
Nationality: Nairobi, Kenya
Grace deserves this award because she has demonstrated exceptional leadership in harnessing ICT to create actionable, practical solutions for climate resilience. Her innovation goes beyond awareness by providing measurable metrics and motivating stakeholders to actively reduce their emissions, supporting Africa’s green transition goals. Through Emission Pulse, Grace has also been recognized for the Wangari Maaathai Award 2024 by Deep Learning Indaba (https://deeplearningindaba.com/blog/2024/08/the-2024-deep-learning-indaba-award-recipients/), for her impactful approach that empowers communities and individuals to be agents of change in the fight against climate change. Her dedication and pioneering spirit embody the very essence of the Africa Innovation Award, positioning her as a trailblazer in using technology to build a sustainable future for Africa.
Mr Mohammed Omara
Name: Mr Mohammed OmaraDesignation: Founder & CEO/CTO, Hoopoe Digital
Nationality: Cairo, Egypt
Africa Community Development Award Winners
Dr kossi AMESSINOU
Name: Dr Kossi AmessinouDesignation: Doctor, Information and Communication Sciences
Nationality: Benin
I invest myself as IGF ambassador and bridging all my national the stakeholders to the IGF event each year since 2012 after my first participation to west africa IGF in Nigeria.
Ms Hoda Dahroug
Designation: Advisor to the Minister for Digital Community Development MCIT, Egypt
Nationality: Egypt
Hoda Dahroug is a distinguished leader in digital community development in Egypt, with a proven track record of impactful achievements. As Advisor to the Minister of Communications and Information Technology for Digital Community Development and Director of the Digital Transformation for Sustainable Development Project, she has led transformative initiatives that bridge the digital divide and foster socio-economic development.
Key achievements include:
Empowering over 20,000 women entrepreneurs across Egypt through the "Qodwa Tech" initiative, enhancing their digital marketing skills and integrating them into the digital economy.
Spearheading the Telemedicine initiative, which established over 300 nodes across remote and underserved areas in Egypt. This initiative revolutionized access to healthcare, enabling communities to connect with specialized medical experts, reducing travel costs, and improving healthcare outcomes for thousands of individuals.
Leading the "Jobs and Skills for Persons with Disabilities" (PwDs) project, which launched the "Ta2heel" platform, connecting thousands of individuals with disabilities to service providers and employers, fostering workforce inclusion.
Securing more than 32 international awards for the successful management of initiatives and programs that advanced digital transformation and sustainable development.
Managing national programs that attracted substantial international funding and formed multi-sector partnerships, advancing initiatives in education, healthcare, entrepreneurship, and women's empowerment.
The Telemedicine initiative alone has had a profound impact on underserved areas, addressing the critical challenge of healthcare accessibility and enhancing the quality of life for communities nationwide. Combined with her broader efforts, Dahroug’s work exemplifies how digital innovation can be harnessed for sustainable development.
Dahroug’s contributions have positioned Egypt as a leader in ICT-enabled development across the Arab world and North Africa. With her strategic vision and measurable impact, she continues to shape a more inclusive digital future
Mr Alphonce Odhiambo
Name: Mr Alphonce OdhiamboDesignation: Network and Infrastructure Services Engineer
Nationality: Nairobi, Kenya
Alphonce has been attributed to the growth and development of Community Networks in Kenya, where he trained over 50 community network engineers on Network Infrastructure and Services for community networks. Through this initiative, Alphonce has supported 13 community networks in Kenya and several others from Africa.
Also, he advocates for devolved internet access to communities and internet governance through local initiatives and programs to address digital sovereignty, inclusivity, and devolution. He is a champion for open, secure, and trustworthy internet for everyone.
Previous Winners
