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IITPSA president elected chairman of Africa ICT Alliance

By , ITWeb senior news journalist.
Africa , 02 Dec 2020
Thabo Mashegoane, newly elected chairman of the Africa ICT Alliance.
Thabo Mashegoane, newly elected chairman of the Africa ICT Alliance.

Thabo Mashegoane, president and board chairperson of the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA), has been elected as chairman of the Africa ICT Alliance (AfICTA).

Formerly vice-chairman of AfICTA, Mashegoane takes over from immediate past chairman Hossam El Gamal of Egypt, who is also CEO of iken. He has been appointed as executive president of Egypt’s National Telecom Regulatory Authority.

During an electronic election at the AfICTA annual general meeting on 25 November, Mashegoane was elected as chairman, while IITPSA past president and non-executive director Ulandi Exner was elected as AfICTA vice-chairman for Southern Africa.

Founded by Nigerian ICT veteran Dr Jimson Olufuye eight years ago, AfICTA is a private sector-led alliance of ICT associations, multinational corporations, companies, organisations and individuals in the ICT sector throughout Africa.

Its mission is to encourage multi-stakeholder dialogue and foster ICT-enabled development in Africa by encouraging multi-stakeholder dialogue and the use of cutting-edge innovative technologies.

Among its noteworthy projects is the establishment this year of the Africa Digital Information Hub, a project solely developed to generate data and serve as a repository for information on digital strategies employed in different African countries. The hub holds data on digital transformation strategies and policies for 22 countries.

Discussing his goals at the helm of the organisation, Mashegoane told ITWeb he is upbeat about his new role because Africa has infinite potential – through human capital – to drive change and help people achieve their potential through the use of emerging ICTs.

“We can only grow from where we are currently. We are putting a lot of energy into human capital development, with many of our programmes including a component of developing the youth or focusing on those who will be impacted by the digital revolution, and I would like to contribute to this.

“We will also continue our work to grow the Africa Digital Information Hub, giving businesses and governments a platform to collaborate and share information and learning on projects they embark on. We are building up to having data from 54 countries on the hub and extend the hub server as a community, business building and transactional platform,” notes Mashegoane.

As part of its advocacy mandate, AfICTA holds workshops, virtual conferences and annual regional summits to foster partnerships to drive the digital economy in Africa.

Globally, AfICTA also hosts the annual Africa ICT Awards, where the Africa ICT Personality Award and Africa ICT Champions Award are bestowed on leading public and private sector stakeholders.

“AfICTA is represented by critical bodies such as ICANN, and the Internet Governance Forum, and we see our involvement in these as ensuring Africa has a voice. We stand in a critical position to influence the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 through ICT,” adds Mashegoane. ITPSA is a professional body recognised by the South African Qualifications Authority. As president, Mashegoane’s vision is to bring IITPSA professionals at the centre of the fourth industrial revolution, through participation, and to make IT professionalism fashionable.

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