The list of finalists – of the projects and people who are powering change and working to bridge the digital divide across Africa – has been announced, with the winners of the Africa Tech Festival Awards set to be unveiled and celebrated at a gala evening on Wednesday 15 November in Cape Town.
James Williams, Senior Event Director, Events | Connecting Africa | Informa Tech said: “It is an exciting time to be in technology and telecommunications as can be seen from the multitude of entries we received for consideration on this year’s awards.
“These annual awards are the pinnacle of an industry that is having a profound effect on the daily lives of Africans. In publicly recognising these leaders and changemakers from the African tech ecosystem that are making the difference, they serve to encourage even more innovation and business excellence across the continent – and even beyond.”
After receiving 247 nominations, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of 58 who then received more than 14,000 public votes, Africa Tech Festival is proud to unveil those select few in the running for top honours this year are:
Changing Lives Award
- Vodacom Foundation DRC
- SAWA Youth Watch NGO
- Huawei & UNESCO: Connecting Schools Initiative
Connectivity for All Award
- Avanti Communications
- TooMuchWifi
- Angola Cables
Innovation for Impact Award
- MTN Uganda
- Orange Cameroon
- Safaricom PLC’s ‘Hustler Fund’
CXO of the Year Award
- Yasser Shaker, CEO, Orange Egypt
- Ahmed Yusef, CEO, Hormuud Telecom
- Dejan Kastelic, Group Technology Officer, Vodacom Group
Female Innovator of the Year Award
- Shalini Boodhooa, Liquid
- Bunmi Cynthia Adeleye, Chief Strategy Officer, Shoprite Nigeria
- Nene Maiga, CEO, Orange Botswana
Sustainability Champion of the Year Award
- Rack Centre
- South Africa MTN & Huawei Green Site Innovation
- Orange Middle East & Africa
Fintech Innovation of the Year Award
- Tigo Tanzania
- Vodacom Tanzania
- Mukuru
Startup of the Year Award
- Botlhale AI Solutions
- JOBJACK
- It’s Learnable LLC
Healthtech Innovation of the Year Award
- HealthX Africa
- Vodafone Egypt
- Zendawa
Creative Visionary Award
- Andile Ncube, Reality TV Star, TV Host & Radio
- Khutso Theledi, Radio Broadcaster
- Simone Venter, Marketing Professional & TikTok Influencer
The Awards will take place at The Bay Hotel in Cape Town on 15 November 2023 and this year, is a formal gala dinner to celebrate excellence. Tickets are limited and would-be guests are encouraged to book early.
For more information about Africa Tech Festival, please see website here: Africa Tech Festival 2023 – The Home of AfricaCom & AfricaTech
View all ticket options for Africa Tech Festival, including start-up passes, here
To register for media accreditation please use this link: Press Pass or see the Africa Tech Festival website and follow the links to our press zone.
(Please note that all requests are adjudicated and there may be some delay before you hear back from us).
For media enquiries, interviews and/or images please contact: Kaz Henderson kaz@networxpr.co.za or call on +27 (0) 82 339 1199.
Social Media Handles:
Facebook: @africatechfestival
Twitter: @africatechfest
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/africa-tech-festival/
