Technology giant Microsoft has hired a South African as country manager for its Nigerian operation.

Kabelo Makwane, who served as public sector director for Microsoft South Africa, is making the move to Africa’s most populous nation to take the country manager role.

Projects that Makwane has been involved with in South Africa include the Microsoft Student Business Initiative in partnership with government’s jobs fund.

The initiative, which was launched last year, seeks equipping 3,000 unemployed youth with technology skills over the next three years.

And Microsoft says that Makwane hopes to address the challenge of local innovation in Nigeria.

In a statement, Microsoft says it has been operating in Nigeria for 13 years and has a local partner ecosystem of 1,750 members.

“The renewed emphasis by the Nigerian government on the ICT sector holds considerable promise for what technology can bring to consumers and businesses,” Makwane said in a statement.

Microsoft’s move to shift Makwane to Nigeria comes after the software giant late last year announced its first African female country manager Otema Yirenkyi.

Yirenkyi heads up Microsoft’s Ghana office as country manager.

Meanwhile, Nigerian national and ex-Microsoft Nigeria employee, Kunle Awosika, is the country for Microsoft Kenya.