Some 15 digital technology service providers and two renown individuals in the technology space on the continent, have been honoured at the maiden Africa Technovate Awards in Accra.
The awards event was organised by Africa Integrated Development Communications (AIDEC) Consultancies, under the theme “Information Technology and the Way Forward for Africa Under the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
A total of 17 awards were given, out of 154 entries vetted by a high-powered panel of judges, and finally audited by Deloitte and Touch.
Out of the 17 awards, 14 were won by organisations and individuals in Ghana, while two went to Kenya and one went to The Gambia.
The topmost awards, being two individual awards went to two Ghanaians – Alex Bram, CEO of Hubtel and Prof. Nii Narku Quaynor, Chairman of Ghana Dot Com.
Alex was adjudged the Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Decade, whole Prof. Quaynor was decorated with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering role in bringing the internet to Africa.
Of all the award winners, only Hubtel got two awards – the one its CEO, Alex Bram won and also the Fintech of the Year.
Prof. Quaynor used the occasion to urge the Bank of Ghana to lead the country with Innovation Regulation to adopt cryptocurrencies and other blockchain echnologies quickly before foreigners take over the space and Ghana begins to play catch up.
He noted that Ghana delayed in coming up with regulations for the internet when he first brought it to the country and that denied the country and industry players of a lot of opportunities, adding the he hopes the same will not be done to blockchain.
Chairman of the AIDEC Group, Prof. Robert Yennah noted that Technovate Awards in designed to reward persons and institutions contributing to digital transformation in Africa, as part of AIDEC’s mission to partner with government and the private sector to succeed in digitalising Africa.
He said AIDEC is ready with a pool of experts and technology to work with governments to digitalise the continent fast as “both governments and the private sector are racing time to digitalise.”
Executive Director of the eCommerce Association of Ghana (EGAG) promised to continue to partner with Africa Technovate Awards to drive excellence within the digital space.
He also used the occasion to announce the plans are far advanced for the introduction of Trust Mark the will assure Ghanaians about which online shops and platforms are safe to buy from, explaining that any online shop that has the ECAG Trust Mark would have met specific criteria that gives customers assurance of safety and reliability.
Find the full list of awardees below.
- Digital Agribusiness of the Year – Esoko
2. Tech Insurance Company of the Year – BIMA
3. Fintech Company of the Year – HUBTEL
4. EHealth Company of the Year – Africa ICT Right
5. Outstanding EduTech Institution of the Year – Academic City University College
6. Digital Innovation and Creativity of the Year – Chatbot Africa
7. Digital Business Transformation of the Year – Enterprise Computing
8. Tech Startup of the Year – MSOFT
9. Young Tech Startup of the Year – Gambia Tech Project (The Gambia)
10. Blossoming Tech Company of the Year – Soko Aerial
11. Mature Tech Company of the Year – Isolutions Associates (Kenya)
12. Ambitious Tech of the Year – DreamOval
Africa
13. Long Standing Service Engagement – Delbondtek
14. Quality Standards – Research ICT Africa
15. Digital Excellence – Hanergy Global
16. Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Decade – Alex Bram
17. Lifetime Achiever of the Year – Prof. Nii Narku Quaynor
