NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – CROWNING the top tech guru from a selection of over 400 applications across Africa, Okundi has been awarded for his excellence in digital transformation at the Digital Transformation (dx100) Symposium & Awards.
Expressing excitement after bagging the award, the thrilled Chief Technology Officer, Absa Bank, expressed gratitude for his award saying, “This is just amazing. It is unbelievable. The thing about this event is the interactions; the engagements – hanging out with people who have the same challenges as you daily is just amazing. Thank you very much dx100. Thank you, Kelly (Bentley, Group CEO, dx⁵). Thank you, Harry (Hare, Chairman, dx⁵). Thank you, everyone. The journey that I’ve been through – I have to call my colleagues, both past and current.”
The former Head of Converged Service Operations at Safaricom PLC and Vodafone CIO graciously invited former Safaricom colleagues to share the stage with him as he held his plaque.
The CIO of the Year Award is a CIO who has deployed technology that has transformed the business. The Digital Transformation (dx100) Awards are also known as the Oscars of the tech world and recognises 100 organisations in Africa using technology in interesting, innovative ways that add business value.
Winning this award has opened doors for previous winners such as 2018’s George Njuguna, CIO, Safaricom and 2016’s Kenneth Ogwang’ who have gone on to rise in their careers. The award is legendary when it comes to opening new doors and avenues. It ups one’s marketing, propelling them into public view.
Applications were reviewed, evaluated and scored by a panel of judges led by Prof. Louis Fourie, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Knowledge and Information Technology Services at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, while the CIO of the Year was selected by industry experts, academics, business executives and former CIOs.
“Many people were merely changing from analogue to digital. What we were looking for was real innovation. Remember that digital transformation touched your whole company. It touches the organisation, the supply chain, your customer relations, the business model – everything. It changes your business. We saw that in a number of companies and were really impressed by that,” said Prof Fourie.
The 14th edition of this event at Leisure Lodge Beach & Golf in Diani, Kenya, has highlighted the importance of decision-makers in recognising the important role technology is playing in innovation and the growth of digital transformation.
Organised by dx⁵, the dx100 awards saw several tech leaders in different sectors awarded for successful projects they have undertaken, leveraging on digital transformation. There were also awards for different members of the C-suite who helped in the incorporation of technology in their companies’ projects.
Prior to the awards, the event involved a symposium where key technology leaders in Africa shared their thoughts on how the continent can leverage digital transformation for growth. The symposium involved discussion around different technology topics, including cybersecurity, Software as a Service, FinTech, smart data, and smart infrastructure to brainstorming Ideation sessions.
Tech leaders who had all submitted their projects for consideration in the awards also got a chance to share how their firms have taken technology more seriously after seeing its effects of it.
They also shared how they are working together among the C-suite to continue using digital transformation to further grow their companies and bring change to the continent.
The dx⁵ Group CEO Kelly Bentley said that it was an all-around success as it converged tech leaders from all across the continent.
“We need to share ideas and practical steps on how we can leverage technology to help grow the continent as a whole. dx100 is a platform for innovation leaders to connect and have discussions on how to work together for the benefit of Africa. Connection is our passion at dx⁵. We are super proud of all the participants and congratulations to the winners,” she said.
Here is the list of all the winners of the various awards in multiple sectors.
LIST OF WINNERS 2022
– Manufacturing Sector Award BAT Kenya PLC
– Hospitality Sector Award JAVA House Africa
– Public Sector Award Agricultural Finance Corporation
– Education Sector Award Shule Pepe Ltd
– Infrastructure Award Absa Bank Kenya Plc
– Banking Sector Award Equity Bank, Kenya
– Sacco Sector Award Stima Sacco DT Society Ltd
– Health Sector Award Amref Health Africa
– Retail Sector Award Naivas Ltd
– Insurance Sector Award Jubilee Insurance
– Green Edge Awards Ministry of Water and Environment (Uganda)
– Technology Partner Awards Safaricom Plc
Overall Company of the Year Diageo Plc – Africa
– CISO of the Year Thelma Kganakga, Group CISO, Equity Bank (K) Ltd
– CXO of the Year Hector Tamez, Head of Manufacturing East Africa, BAT
Media Contact:
Carol Odero
Head of dxContent, dx⁵
carol.odero@cioafrica.co
+254 720 899 291
NB: We publish on behalf of our media partner, www.mediaweb.co.za
– CAJ News