This year’s Award winners were honoured for their contributions to transforming and bringing technology closer to Africa. Hosted by Topco Media, the event commenced on the first evening of the two-day Sentech Africa Tech Week Conference, taking place at the Two Oceans Aquarium.
The fourth annual awards ceremony is a token of appreciation to businesses, institutions and individuals from across South Africa, who are determined to see Africa become a global leader in impact innovation.
A total of seven individuals were hailed for disrupting and inventing solutions that improve the lives of ordinary Africans.
Walking away with the ‘Women in Tech’ Award was the CEO and Chairperson of LexisNexis, Videsha Proothveerajh. Upon accepting her award, Proothveerajh said that the prize was an acknowledgment 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,” says 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,” Bornman added.
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 eleven judges in total.
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.
See the full list of winners below:
Africa Tech: CEO Award DataProphet – Frans Cronje
Africa Tech: Leader of the Year Award (Small-Med Business) IT Varsity – Bilal Kathrada
Africa Tech: Leader of the Year Award (Large Business)Vodacom – Nkululeko Thangelane
Africa Tech: Women in Tech Award LexisNexis – Videsha Proothveerajh
Africa Tech: Fintech Award SnapScan
Africa Tech: AI Technology Award JUMO
Africa Tech: Digital Transformation Award Turner & Townsend
Technology Innovation of The Year Award Absa
Africa Tech: Technology Company of The Year Jendamark
Africa Tech: Best Technology Start-Up WeThinkCode_
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