Integr8 IT CEO Rob Sussman received several accolades at ForgeAhead's annual African ICT Achievers Awards, held on Saturday, in Johannesburg.
Sussman won the overall individual winner award, and also scooped the Top CIO of Africa and Top ICT Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards. He was also noted as one of the top ICT businessmen on the continent.
“It is an honour to be acknowledged by the industry for the business and social impact that Integr8 IT continues to make on the African continent,” Sussman said.
He added that he was excited about the impact Integr8 has made on the market, but even more excited about where the company is going. “We have spent nine years building our proven operational delivery model, and this is just the beginning. We are now ready to take our running into a sprint.”
He noted that Integr8 is “a true South African success story”; a story “from bedroom to boardroom”.
Founded by ICT research and consulting house ForgeAhead, the African ICT Achievers Awards is an Africa-wide ICT recognition and reward programme that has been in existence for 11 years. The theme of this year's award was “Making the African Century a Reality”.
The programme recognises those who have proven they are globally competitive, and have made a difference in the lives of others less fortunate by helping them overcome the challenges Africa faces in leveraging ICT for development.
Governmental nod
Communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda noted how important it was that excellence is celebrated in any sector. He pointed out that it is equally important that an industry such as ICT embraces discussions and utilises opportunities such as this event to build lasting partnerships.
“The ICT industry is a significant part of our economy. Almost every aspect of our lives is influenced by ICT,” Nyanda said.
He added that the key challenge for the ICT industry is to make technology relevant to people, the marginalised in particular, so that they can use it to improve their living conditions.
This objective, he said, cannot be the sole responsibility of the government. “Through public-private partnerships, we will be able to take Internet services, for instance, to the most rural and remote communities in our country.”
Nyanda promised government will continue to seek ways of building long-term, sustainable partnerships with the ICT industry. “No one sector in society can deliver on the complexities of sustainable development alone. Therefore, our goal is to work collaboratively with the ICT industry to deliver on the mandate of the government,” he said.
African ICT Achievers
* Top ICT Businessman - Jason Goodall
* Top ICT Businesswoman - Doreen Ramphaleng-Motlaleng
* Top CIO/CTO - Rob Sussman
* Top ICT Educator - Mmipe Mokgehle
* Young ICT Innovator - Berlina Pale and Muhammed Jude
* Young Entrepreneur - Rob Sussman
* Top ICT Company - Afrosoft Holdings
* Top ICT SMME - Computer Business Solutions
* Civil Society/NGO - Vuka ICT
* Innovative Company - Afrosoft Holdings
* Workplace Provider - IBM
* Project Excellence - Altech Netstar Traffic
* Top Multinational - Accenture
Related story:
Ivan Epstein named IT Personality 2009
Share