WeThinkCode CEO Nyari Samushonga was named the top winner of the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) 2022 President’s Awards, scooping the coveted IT Personality of the Year Award.
The other top prize, of Visionary CIO, was presented to Intikhab Shaik, head of technology and solutions delivery at the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
The winners were announced this morning at the IITPSA’s first in-person President’s Awards since 2019.
Presented by the IITPSA, in association with ITWeb and the Gordon Institute of Business Science, the IT Personality of the Year Award recognises an individual who has made a positive impact on SA’s ICT industry over the past year and has been successful in building a respected IT organisation or business.
For the IT Personality of the Year accolade, Samushonga was up against stiff competition, which included Microsoft SA CEO Lillian Barnard; Queen Ndlovu, MD of South Africa Flying Labs and founder of QP Drone Tech; and ESET South Africa CEO Carey van Vlaanderen.
Accepting her award this morning, the WeThinkCode CEO said: “I’m decidedly stunned and shaking in my stilettos, but thank you. What an honour.
“[IITPSA president and board chairperson] Admire [Gwanzura] mentioned in his remarks that we’re sitting in eGoli. Many years ago, the gold was beneath the earth, but what we have in IT is an opportunity where the gold is the youth and their potential, to ignite the tech sector globally.
“I know that this is a personality award, but I receive it on behalf of WeThinkCode because it’s the work that we’re doing to bring the youth into the sector. I’m so excited at the honour and recognition.”
Launched in 2015, software development training academy WeThinkCode seeks to eliminate the digital skills shortage by developing 100 000 coders in Africa over the next 10 years.
The Visionary CIO honour is awarded to someone who has demonstrated visionary leadership in using IT to support, grow and transform business and/or who has established best-practice in implementing technology solutions in an organisation.
Shaik battled against four other finalists, including Telkom Group’s Portia Maluleke, to win the prestigious prize.
Accepting the award, Shaik said he was humbled and honoured, adding it is not only for himself but for the people at SARS. “We’ve come off a very torrid time but we’re back on the wave upwards.”
Certified IT gems
The 2022 President’s Awards mark the IITPSA’s 65th anniversary celebration – a milestone traditionally associated with a sapphire. In light of this, the IITPSA themed its sapphire anniversary President’s Awards as ‘Brilliance in IT’.
The awards recognise the IT industry’s leading CIOs, personalities and organisations. Past winners included University of Johannesburg vice-chancellor and principal professor Tshilidzi Marwala; Livestock Wealth’s Ntuthuko Shezi; Geekulcha COO Tiyani Nghonyama; Zutari CEO Teddy Daka; and former Adapt IT CEO Sbu Shabalala, to name a few.
Gwanzura said this year’s awards demonstrated huge progress in the institute’s efforts to encourage more women to enter the ICT sector. He told the audience that this year, for the first time, the IITPSA had a 50/50 split between men and women finalists.
“We see this as encouraging and a sign that gender gaps in this sector are finally closing, and we are super-excited about this.”
The IITPSA president noted this year’s finalists and winners represent IT professionals and organisations that serve as shining examples of what can be achieved through a career in IT, or actively taking digital skills to communities and young people.
The Technology Excellence Award, which recognises a person/team who has made exceptional/innovative use of IT, or designed an innovative new technology, was awarded to Justin Thomas, head of strategy, alliance and digital transformation at Standard Bank.
Additional winners
Distinguished Service in ICT Award:
Awarded jointly by EngineerIT and the IITPSA, it recognises a significant, career-length contribution to the ICT profession and/or the ICT industry. It was won by Christopher Guy.
Social Responsibility/Community Award:
This award is presented to a person, team or project that delivers the benefits of IT on a not-for-profit basis into the community, or brings the community into the IT space. This year, the award went to Siyavula MSDF. Siyavula’s online practice platform, built by scientists, educational experts and teachers, aims to make high-quality education accessible to all learners.
Dynamism in ICT Youth Award:
A first for this year, this accolade was presented to Ayanda Dladla, CEO and founder of Mowash and Runtime Solutions.
This award, according to Gwanzura, recognises South Africa is a young nation, where one doesn’t need decades of experience to make waves in the sector.
“We invited nominations for this award and we received numerous nominations from exceptional and driven young candidates. All of the nominations that we received were of very high calibre.
“The South African ICT sector is growing and is populated by growing numbers of outstanding professionals, exemplifying brilliance in IT.”