Africa Tech Week honours ‘giants who transform continent’

The seven winners honoured during the recent Africa Tech Week Award were commended for their contributions to transforming and bringing technology closer to Africa. Judges hailed them for disrupting and inventing solutions that improve the lives of ordinary people.

The fourth annual awards ceremony – held during the Sentech Africa Tech Week Conference in Cape Town – is described as a token of appreciation to South African businesses, institutions and individuals who are determined to see Africa become a global leader in impact innovation.

Walking away with the Women in Tech Award was the CEO and chairperson of LexisNexis, Videsha Proothveerajh. Upon accepting her award, she said the prize was an acknowledgement that she was creating something impactful.

“I’ve always sat in boardrooms where, in most cases, I am the only female in the room. This award is a validation that we as women have an opportunity to step forward and take our seat at the table, and that if there are none, then we must create them for ourselves,” said Proothveerajh.

“We also should not view men as the enemy. I’ve been coached and sponsored and mentored by so many well-accomplished men. So, our challenge and the task at hand is to just create opportunities where women are equal. “

Furthermore, the Technology Innovation of the Year Award was awarded to Absa. Alternative channel head at Absa, Pierre Bornman, said: “This award demonstrates that we are well on our way to crafting new and innovative solutions through the integration of technology into banking.

“Africa’s biggest challenge is overcoming the distance, so with the mobile banks that we have pioneered, we bring banks to the people, and that’s a huge contribution to creating inclusion and accessibility.”

In addition to the various criteria, the winners were judged on their ability to be innovative and disruptive, as well as their contribution to transformation. The finalists were assessed by a panel of 11 judges.

Describing the adjudication process, Dr Rutendo Hwindingwi, who was among the judging panel, said: “This year’s judging was quite complex. It was hard because we don’t look at technology as a simple item. We focus on the impact of the solution that the finalists have made, and that can be quite challenging.

The winners will gain prestige and recognition from their peers, entrench their brand on a leadership platform and enjoy highly valuable public relations and media exposure through multi-channel marketing.

Complete list of Africa Tech awardees

• CEO Award – DataProphet, Frans Cronje
• Leader of the Year Award (for a small- to medium-scale business) – IT Varsity, Bilal Kathrada
• Leader of the Year Award (for a large-scale business) – Vodacom, Nkululeko Thangelane
• Women in Tech Award – LexisNexis, Videsha Proothveerajh
• Fintech Award – SnapScan
• AI Technology Award – JUMO
• Digital Transformation Award – Turner & Townsend
• Technology Innovation of The Year Award – Absa
• Technology Company of The Year – Jendamark
• Best Technology Start-Up – WeThinkCode_

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