Mr Lucas Oluoch, Principal ICT Officer at the Kenya Wildlife Service; Ms Rachael Shitanda, AfICTA Deputy Chair and Vice Chair for East Africa; Ms Arinola Akinyemi, AfICTA Vice Chair for West Africa and CEO of DigiSphere Investment Limited; Mr Abimbola Abioye, CEO of Fintrak Software and President of ISPON; and Dr Robinson Tombari Sibe, CEO of Digital Footprints Nig. Ltd have been named the 2025 Africa ICT Champions.core
Their recognition was officially revealed after the election conducted by the AfICTA Nominating Committee and decided by votes from members in good standing, was finalised. The announcement was made during the Awards Presentation Session, which served as the closing highlight of the 13th AfICTA Summit held from November 12-13, 2025 and led by AfICTA Chair, Ms Ulandi Exner.
Additional awardees include recipients of the 2025 Africa ICT Personality Award: Mr Chris Uwaje, Former President of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON); and Dr Adebunmi Akinbo, Founder of DNS Africa Media and Communications.
Ms Jaqueline Madara Dondo, ICT Director at Machakos University, Kenya, earned the CIO Award, while the Africa Innovation Award was presented to Mr Godwin Okwara, Technical/IT Engineer based in the United States. The Africa Community Development Award went to Mr Hanniel Hamisu Jafaru, Executive Director of HTC Academy and a Cybersecurity & AI Governance expert.
These awardees represent distinguished professionals whose contributions continue to shape and elevate Africa’s digital ecosystem. AfICTA further acknowledges the broader community of exceptional leaders across the continent whose work continues to drive progress and strengthen Africa’s ICT landscape.
This year’s AfICTA Summit was themed “Accelerating Africa’s Digital Future: Innovation, Inclusion, and Economic Growth.” The two-day event brought together industry experts, policymakers, and stakeholders to engage on pressing issues such as digital infrastructure, emerging technologies, cybersecurity, skills development, and inclusive digital growth. Discussions centred on strengthening collaboration to accelerate Africa’s digital transformation.
The Africa Information & Communication Technologies Alliance (AfICTA) is a private-sector–driven coalition of ICT associations, multinational companies, enterprises, and professionals across the continent. AfICTA’s vision is to enable every African to benefit from the digital age. Its mission is to promote multi-stakeholder engagement and drive ICT-enabled development using innovative tools from mobile technologies to computing and satellite systems to advance Africa toward a thriving information society.
Profiles of both recent and past awardees are available here
