Africa Technovate Awards Honours Fifteen Digital Technology Service Providers At Its Maiden Edition

Fifteen digital technology service providers and two renown individuals in the technology space on the continent, have been honoured at the maiden edition of the Africa Technovate Awards organized by Africa Integrated Development Communications (AIDEC) Consultancies yesterday in Accra at UPSA.

Dubbed “Information Technology and the Way Forward for Africa Under the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

Out of 154 entries that were vetted by a high-powered panel of judges, and finally audited by Deloitte and Touch, a total of 17 awards were given.

Fourteen (14 ) were won by organisations and individuals in Ghana, while two went to Kenya and one went to Gambia.

Alex Bram, CEO of Hubtel and Prof. Nii Narku Quaynor, Chairman of Ghana Dot Com were the two individuals who won the topmost awards.

Alex was adjudged the Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Decade, while Prof. Quaynor was decorated with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering role in bringing the internet to Africa.

Prof. Quaynor used the occasion to urge the Bank of Ghana to lead the country with Innovation Regulation to adopt cryptocurrencies and other blockchain technologies quickly before foreigners take over the space and Ghana begins to play catch up.

He stated 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.

Prof. Robert Yennah Chairman of the AIDEC Group noted that, Technovate Awards is 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.

Additionally, 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.”

Paul Asinor, 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.

1. 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

By: Sheila Satori Mensa