The Africa Tech Alliance Forum (AfriTECH) has conferred special honours on Professor Isa Ibrahim Ali (Pantami), Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Other special honourees at the award ceremony held during AfriTECH 2.0 are; Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General, National Information Technology Agency (NITDA), Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, General Manager, Fixed Broadband, MTN Nigeria, and Dr. Ruth Oji, Faculty Member, Institute of Humanities, Pan-Atlantic University (PAU), Lagos.
Prof. Pantami received Digital Economy Hero of the Year Award in recognition of his resilience and leadership excellence leading to Nigeria’s digital economy progress including the National Identity Database, Commercial 5G Rollout, enactment of the Nigeria Startup Act and the global branding his personality brought to Nigeria as the Chairman of UN-WSIS 2022.
Read Also: AfriTECH 2.0: Agada Lists Factors That Could Kill Startups
Similarly, Prof. Danbatta bagged 5G Core Leadership Award in recognition of his outstanding leadership in the African Telecommunications industry, especially the outstanding performance during the cause of commercial 5G launch in Nigeria.
Digital Economy Ambassador of the Year Award was presented to NITDA boss, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCEI, for his leading role towards the enactment of Nigeria Startup Act, deepened Government-Tech ecosystem partnerships, international recognitions, amongst others.
Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka emerged the AfriTECH 2022 Telecommunication Woman of the Year in recognition of her contributions to the telecommunications industry and leadership in driving transformational change in the sector; evidenced by MTN Nigeria’s innovative and cutting-edge communications, connectivity and collaborative solutions.
Dr. Ruth Oji, received a special Distinguished Teaching in Journalism Award as recognition of her contributions toward flawless writing in Media Practice.
Dr. Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Executive, West Africa at Africa Data Centres (ADC), also received Data Centre Influencer of the Year as an influential personality in the West African data centre operations.
PAN-Africa CyberSecurity Excellence Award was conferred on Dr. Adewale Peter Obadare, Co-Founder/Chief Visionary Officer (CVO), Digital Encode Limited, for his exceptional achievements and contributions to the development of cybersecurity in Africa, while Dr. Oluseyi Akindeinde, Co-Founder/Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Digital Encode Limited bagged Blockchain Technology Mastery Personality Award for his outstanding efforts in awareness creation towards the adoption of Blockchain Technology on the Continent.
Galaxy Backbone Limited received ‘Data Centre Company of the Year’ as a company that is contributing to building solid computing power for MDAs of government.
ZOHO Technologies Limited received Africa Digital Enabler Award for technological impact on Africa’s digital economy through various products/solutions they offer; particularly the Zoho Africa Digital Enabler packages that help small businesses take steps towards digital transformation.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) received ‘Best Digital Economy Project of the Year Award’ for its regulatory excellence and transparent processes leading to commercial 5G launch in Nigeria.
The Best Crypto Exchange Platform of the Year was presented to TradeFada for distinguishing itself as a top Cryptocurrency exchange offering actionable and easy-to-use digital currency trading platform’.
Medallion Data Centres received Excellence Award in Data Centre Operations for its leading role in building West Africa’s digital transformation with keen interest in the future; cutting across data centre infrastructure deployment, amongst others.
CyberSecurity Company of the Year Award was conferred on ESET. The award screening committee identified ESET for its innovative solutions towards protecting individuals and businesses through robust security products, services, and awareness creation in Africa.
Africa Tech Alliance Forum awards ceremony aims to celebrate and reward companies and individuals on the African continent that have demonstrated excellence in the areas of innovative product/service development, policy/regulations, amongst other areas.
L-R: Chike Onwuegbuchi, Co-Convener, AfriTECH, Kehinde Ogundare, Country Manager, Zoho Technologies Ltd; Prof. Abdu-Ja’afaru Bambale, Executive Director, Technical Services, NIGCOMSAT receiving Digital Economy Hero of the year Award on behalf of Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy (Nigeria); Emmanuel Amos, UN World Summit Award National Expert for Nigeria, and Peter Oluka, Co-Convener, AfriTECH.
