Finalists announced for 2024 IITPSA President's Awards

This year's finalists have been named.

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The finalists have been announced for this year’s Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) President’s Awards – the South African IT industry’s most prestigious accolades.

IITPSA President Pearl Pasi says: “We’re pleased to note that we have yet another outstanding cohort of nominees, which made the selection of finalists a challenge for our judges. This year’s theme is: ‘Celebrating leaders in ethical digital transformation' and we believe all our finalists fit the bill.”

The awards recognise leaders in the ICT sector and have grown in scope over 30 years to include the IT Personality of the Year, Visionary CIO, Technology Excellence award, Social Responsibility award, and Dynamism in ICT Youth award, all presented by the IITPSA in association with ITWeb and the Gordon Institute of Business Science, the Distinguished Service in ICT Award, presented in association with EngineerIT, as well as the Institute’s own new Member Ambassador award.

IT Personality Award

The IT Personality Award recognises a highly respected and outstanding ICT professional who has made a significant technical or academic contribution to the industry, who has been successful in building a highly respected IT organisation or business, and/or who has made a major contribution to the IT profession over a number of years.

- Joseph Lumbahe, Senior AI Technology Specialist at Microsoft. Now part of the new global AI specialised team in South Africa, focusing on AI application development. He has also served as Global Manager & Lead AI Engineer at Aizatron Group. His leadership roles include Regional Ambassador for the South African AI Association (SAAIA) and Non-Executive Board Director at AEEYC. His accolades include, the Most Influential AI Technology Business Leader (Africa) award at the African Excellence Awards, African Genius 2024 nominee by the African Genius Awards (AGA), and being a finalist for the IITPSA 2023 Technology Excellence Award.

- Zandile Mkwanazi, founder and CEO of GirlCode. GirlCode has empowered over 80 000 girls and women through technology education, bridging the gender gap in South Africa. She also founded GirlCode Talent, a tech recruitment start-up. Recognised for her impact, Mkwanazi has been honoured with several prestigious awards and is a sought-after keynote speaker. With a proven track record of success, Mkwanazi is a powerful advocate for diversity and inclusion.

- Cinga Nyangintsimbi, Founder and MD of Batsamayi Software Development. Batsamayi was established as a third-year project group during Nyangintsimbi's time as a student at the Nelson Mandela University in 2013, where he later became a Student Assistant and consequently started lecturing final year Information Technology students. Batsamayi grew out of a dream by six young software engineers in 2015, to a 50-strong team serving international clients.

- Malini Bandi, founder and CEO of CestaSoft Solutions. As an accomplished entrepreneur and technology leader, Bandi spent 15 years in industries like fintechs, healthcare, insurance, telecoms, retail and media before establishing CestaSoft Solutions – now a leader in the digital transformation space. She also founded Cesta Academy which focuses on promoting graduates in the field of professional Software Specialisation. Her accolades include an award from the Consulate General of India in Johannesburg, the Olympus Award for her dedication to empowerment, and the Women in Tech Award.

- Rashika Ramlal, Country Manager (public sector) & Executive Director at Amazon Web Services (AWS) South Africa. With over two decades of senior leadership expertise across large and multinational organisations, Ramlal has been listed among Africa’s Most Inspirational Leaders and one of South Africa’s top five leaders in ICT. She has won the ITWeb/Wired4Women Business Leader of the Year award and the TopCo Media’s AfricaTech Visionary Women Leader of the Year accolade. She holds a Cum Laude Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) and Cum Laude BSc IT Degree, amongst other qualifications.

The Visionary CIO of the Year Award recognises a personality on the other side of the IT vendor and service provider sector – an executive in the corporate IT environment who has demonstrated visionary leadership in applying technology to grow and transform business.

- Nomonde White-Ndlovu, CIO at Bidvest Bank. As a seasoned technology executive, White-Ndlovu has also served on the ABSA Group Technology Executive team, headed Governance, Risk and Compliance for ABSA Group’s Information Technology Office and has been the Joint- Chief Information Officer for the organisation's Infrastructure Services.She is also a speaker and moderator, and Chairperson of Wired4Women. She holds an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science and a BA Law degree (Wits).

- Kholeka Tsotsotso, CIO at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). An accomplished ICT professional with over 25 years of experience in technology strategy, business development, and operations, Tsotsotso’s expertise includes cybersecurity, business continuity, business and ICT operational and strategic management, and leveraging technological risks into strategic opportunities. She has successfully delivered integrated sales models focused on digital transformation and customer-centricity. and developed robust governance, risk and compliance processes. She is also co-founder of the Circle of Lift Foundation and serves on the advisory board for Women In Tech SA.

- Gudani Mukatuni, CIO at Glacier. Prior to taking on the role of CIO at Africa’s largest unit investment administration platform, Mukatuni held senior leadership and executive roles at FirstRand – WesBank, AIG Africa Region and Nedbank. Her career spans financial services, telecommunications (MTN), and consulting firms, starting at Ernst & Young (EY). She holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of the Witwatersrand, certificates in Applied Project Management and Strategic Systems Planning from Unisa, and an MBA from Henley Business School, University of Reading (UK).

- Sandra (Sandy) Rheeder, CIO at Mukuru. Rheeder joined Mukuru in 2017 after 16 years in IT consulting for Financial Services companies. Leading a team of 150 people, she has overseen the launch of new tech capability across the Mukuru footprint, including agent and branch tech for customer sign-up, cash collections and payments in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya and Uganda.She holds a Bachelor of Business Science (Hons) Information Systems degree from Rhodes University.

- George Palmer, George Palmer, CIO at Coaxle Lightstone and Coaxle. Palmer has an extensive track record of leadership in Information Technology, Solution Development, Product Management, IT and Technology Management as well as Sales Management, and manages teams of technical experts in Database Management, Infrastructure (both on-premises and cloud), Networks, Security (cyber and systems), and user and systems support. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Computer Science, a Higher Diploma in Education and an executive education certificate in Digital Transformation from MIT Sloan.

- Lungile Mginqi, Group CIO at Sasol. With over three decades of experience spanning business, consulting, and large enterprise IT leadership, Mginqi is now focused on transforming Sasol from a traditional IT organisation to a Digital IT organisation with his vision 2035. He has served as Partner at a Global Management Consulting firm, CEO of a Financial Services company and COO of his own start-up. He holds a MSc in Engineering from the University of Cape Town and a certificate in Business Innovation from Stanford University.

The Technology Excellence Award is presented to a person or team who has made exceptional or innovative use of technology for an organisation and/or who has exhibited technological excellence that has delivered measurable benefit for business/the SA economy.

- Cornelius Greyling, Fibertime executive and technology leader. As a dynamic entrepreneur and technology leader, Greyling co-founded Avocado Chocolate in 2015 alongside Martin Stolk. The company developed mobile apps, games, websites, web services, and reward platforms. In 2021, he launched VulaCoin, a micro-payments and business support services platform for pay-as-you-go fibre connectivity in South African townships.In 2022, he sold the platform to Fibertime and he now holds an executive-level position at Fibertime, where he oversees product development.

- Riaan Mastenbroek, Director and Product Owner of BlackBEE Software. An accomplished entrepreneur and Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) with over 20 years of experience in software development and product management, Mastenbroek has developed innovative products including W8Bin, W8Suite, W8Cert, W8Bridge, W8Chem, W8Sense and W8Fuel. He is also a qualified blockchain solution architect and serves as a Technical Advisor for two blockchain ICO start-ups and is an active member of the World Economic Forum's Blockchain Advisory Committee.

- Yugrow is a behaviour tech platform for women that enables growth through personalised micro actions and growth challenges, high-impact coaching and a support network. Started by founder Kele Boakgomo and Yolanda Nobanda, Yugrow supports women to break barriers and drive significant growth, ultimately contributing to closing the economic gender gap.

The Social Responsibility/Community 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.

- Zoie Health: Zoie is a digital health platform for women's and family health and wellness, offering virtual consultations, a community chat forum, resources and a shop/pharmacy where members can purchase their health and wellness products and medication. Zoie Health also has a B2B WhatsApp-based employee benefits product for frontline employees called EasyDoc.

- JOBJACK: A technology-driven mobile-friendly platform that makes the application process easy and low-cost for job seekers. JOBJACK also makes it easier for employers to find and hire entry-level talent by automating and improving the recruiting process for employers through a technology-driven Applicant Tracking System, matching algorithms and psychometric assessments.

- STEMulator: A 21st century, four-dimensional, fully interactive XplorITory to get youngsters excited about the STEM world and careers. The STEMulator was developed by Richard Gundersen, an electrically educated, mechanically trained systems and project engineer in the mining industry. He is also a member of an umbrella body called proSET within the greater NSTF, which is where the STEMulator was born.

- Prof Stella Bvuma, Director of the University of Johannesburg's School of Consumer Intelligence and Information Systems. Prof Bvuma is passionate about ICT4 development, technology adoption and digital transformation, particularly in areas like SME development, smart cities, cyber security and the digital economy. She is an advocate for women’s inclusion in IT and digital equality.

She has served on boards including the South Africa Tourism Board (SAT), the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) as Deputy Chairperson, and the City of Joburg Mayoral Office as an advisor on Digital Strategy and 4iR. She is also the 4iR Commissioner for the Premier of KZN.

Prof Bvuma holds a PhD in Information Technology Management.

- Krish Govender, KZN Provincial Coordinator for Tangible Africa. As a retired school principal, Govender continues making an active contribution to the education sector. In the past two years, he has travelled throughout the province to introduce Unplugged Coding (Rangers) to schools. He currently coordinates 27 regions in KwaZulu-Natal. To date, 1 500 teachers from 350 schools have been trained in Unplugged Coding and schools from KZN have been highly successful in the Unplugged Coding Championships. Last year, Sunford Primary (KZN) won the World Championship.

The Dynamism in ICT Youth Award, specifically for people under the age of 25 years, recognises a person who has demonstrated exceptional potential or achievement in ICT over the past two to five years.

- Kim Small: A final year student pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce in Information Systems and Management at the University of the Western Cape. She has received several accolades, including the Dean’s Merit Awards in 2021 and 2023 and was recognised as the best first-year student in the extended programme. Small is also a member of the Golden Key Honour Society. She has actively participated in initiatives such as the Huawei Seeds for the Future programme, the Gen Z Coca-Cola Creative Hackathon and the iNkanyezi IT Audit & Cyber Security Academy.

- Inge Odendaal: Currently pursuing her Honours in Computer Science at the University of Pretoria. During her studies, she consistently placed first in the School of IT, which includes Computer Science, Informatics and Information Science. She is also an Assistant Lecturer at UP, and tutors Maths and Computer Science modules. She co-founded Tyto Insights, a company initially focused on the Domain Name industry, which developed Management Information Systems to support business decisions and solutions such as graphical analysis for an agricultural lab and a Brand Protection service.

- Matshepo Soto, CEO of MoveMates. Soto is a 24-year-old award-winning Software Engineer and the CEO of MoveMates, which offers instant quotes and on-demand moving services. With a background in software engineering from WeThinkCode, she has won first place in five prestigious hackathons. She was also listed in ITWeb's "100 Influential Women in Tech" and won the Rising Star in Coding award. She was also named among Geekulcha's top 15 geeks. Soto also founded the Thuma Mina Tech Foundation, an NPO that teaches autistic children about technology.

- Ashleigh Mabaire: A Junior Software Engineer with a BSc in Information Technology, majoring in Computer Science and Informatics from the University of Johannesburg, where she ranked in the top 10 for a majority of her majors. She is also a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society. She serves as the Deputy Chair of the IITPSA Women in IT Chapter and as the Treasurer of the Gauteng Chapter.

The new Member Ambassador Award was introduced this year to recognise exceptional commitment and effort by an IITPSA member to serve as an ambassador of the Institute.

- Saba Rahimi, Chair of the IITPSA Gauteng Chapter. Rahimi is a professional member of the IITPSA and actively serves on several committees, including the Computer Olympiads Scientific Committee. A regular participant in IITPSA events, he delivers guest lectures and actively promotes membership. Currently the CIO of TForge, he has also provided consultancy services and served as a Junior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town while completing his Master of Commerce (MCom) degree.

- Constandious Takura Munakandafa, member of the IITPSA Social and Ethics Committee. He previously served as Secretary, Treasurer and Vice Chairperson of the Gauteng IITPSA Chapter and regularly writes IT articles published in the IITPSA newsletter. He is an Agile Systems Analyst at Glacier by Sanlam and holds a BSc Honours in Information Systems from the Midlands State University in Zimbabwe.

- Ashleigh Mabaire, Deputy Chair of the IITPSA Women in IT Chapter and Treasurer of the Gauteng Chapter. She is a Junior Software Engineer with a BSc in Information Technology, majoring in Computer Science and Informatics from the University of Johannesburg, where she ranked in the top 10 for a majority of her majors. She is also a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Bryanston Country Club on 26 November.

To learn more and show support for finalists, go to https://www.iitpsa.org.za/annual-presidents-awards-finalists/.