The lecture which will herald Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Awards (ABoICT Lecture 2024) hold on May 25, 2024 at Four Points by Sheraton.

The sixteenth edition of the award ceremony according Ken Nwogbo, editor-in-chief of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek the organizers of the event, “is a special edition to recognise and celebrate organizations and individuals in the ICT industry that have been distinguished in delivery innovative services in the sector.

“Most of these organizations and individuals have consistently being voted by our readers as leaders in their areas of operations and we have decided to reward them in this especial edition”.

He added that, AI is considered to have the potential to instigate a fourth industrial revolution,1 and is dramatically changing people’s patterns of interaction and economic activities.

“The traditional factors of production and physical capital and labour may no longer promote substantial economic growth. It is generally believed that AI will be one of the most important factors determining future economic growth.

“However, unlike traditional machines, which replaced the use of human and animal labor for simple manual work and heavy or dangerous activities, AI-related inputs may change the type of human work in a comprehensive way.

“In contrast to previous industrial revolutions, AI does not simply involve the invention of a new machine or technology. Instead, AI has similarities to the accumulation of human capital, as it can learn and accumulate knowledge by itself,” he said.

The Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished (ABoICT Lecture 2024) is designed to explore efforts to put Nigeria on the global Information and Communications Technologies map.

The lecture series however is reserved for distinguished achievers in the ICT sector.

Past lecturers included Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Dr. Jean Luc Fort, CEO at OR System France and a specialist in Counterparty Risk; and Professor Chris Nwagboso, Chairman, Knowledge Factory International, United Kingdom.

Others are: Uche Orji, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director, Rack Centre Limited; Peter Adedayo Arogundade, managing director and chief executive officer, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited; Dr. Adewale Obadare, chief visionary officer, Digital Encode and John Obaro, CEO and founder of Systemspecs; Prof. Isa Pantanmi, minister of Communications and Digital Economy; among others.

Presenting the award to Dr. Krish as he is fondly called in the ICT industry in Nigeria, the organizer of the award ceremony, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, noted that ‘Man of the Year’ is the highest award given to an individual each year.

“We are honoured to present to Dr. Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Executive-West Africa at the Africa Data Centres, ‘Man of the Year’ award,” announced Mr. Ken Nwogbo, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek at the event held at the prestigious Oriental Hotel in Lagos.

He disclosed that Dr. Krishnan Ranganath was chosen for the award by critical industry stakeholders, who believe he has brought a lot of expertise into the data centre space, which is touted as the new oil.

Now in its 14th year, Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Award is regarded as the most prestigious annual event available in Nigeria’s ICT industry. Industry watchers and analysts see the award designed to reward individuals and corporate organization as merit centric.

Meanwhile, a visibly surprised Dr. Krishnan has described the award as heart-warming and thought-provoking, especially as he did not expect such an honour from a media organization and other industry stakeholders.

He believes the award is more of a challenge for him to work harder.

“I am surprised to have been called out for this recognition. My takeaway from this recognition is that the industry appreciates what we are doing at Africa Data Centres to empower businesses in Nigeria and Africa,” he told Journalists on the sideline.

Earlier in a lecture, he presented at the event titled ‘Digital Transformation and Cloud Services as New Order’, Dr. Krishnan had stated that the Nigerian cloud industry, which is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% from 2022 to 2027 presents ample opportunities for businesses: integrating emerging technologies like edge computing, AI, machine learning, IoT, and blockchain.

He believes that Nigeria’s cloud will lead to capital flight reduction, improved responsiveness to citizens’ or customers’ needs, increased transparency, enhanced public service delivery and enhanced human capital and create new jobs.

Speaking about the digital gap, he argued that capacity building and promoting women in ICT are important for bridging the digital divide and promoting inclusive growth. “In Nigeria, only 22% of ICT jobs are held by women. Encouraging and promoting women’s participation in ICT can lead to increased innovation and economic growth,” he said.

Digital transformation and cloud services as new order will ensure the growth of Nigeria and Africa by creating a base for future generations and positioning Nigeria as the Silicon Valley for human capital and creating value for the system and people. It will alsotransform Nigeria by providing new opportunities for businesses and individuals.

However, this transformation requires local infrastructure and a commitment to cloud neutrality. Thanks to the likes of Africa Data Centres, which is already doing this by supporting the development of local digital economies, enabling businesses to innovate and compete on a global scale leveraging its world-class data centre infrastructure in Lagos.

Akindeinde, will be speaking on the theme “Impact of Blockchain Technology in a Digitalized Nigeria” and will examine the potentials of Blockchain technology to disrupt digital interaction in our economy and society.

And how the technology’s rapid and dynamic technical development is driven by startups and incumbents alike, creating a myriad of applications across economic and societal domains.

This year’s Beacon of ICT Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series is slated for Saturday, May 28, 2022, at the prestigious Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos.

According to Ken Nwogbo, CEO, Communication Week Media Ltd, organisers of the BoICT Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series, “the choice of Dr. Oluseyi Akindeinde, CTO Digital Encodeis deliberate because of his exceptional career in exploring the security issues faced by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and Financial Transaction Systems (FTS).”

Dr. Oluseyi Akindeinde, is a speaker on matters bordering on information security and fraud detection, and has presented technical papers on a wide range of IT security and risk management topics for a number of high-profile financial service providers at different retreats and forums.

Furthermore, he has delivered several information security and ethical hacking training courses to delegates from diverse industries including finance, manufacturing, oil and gas, telecoms as well as State and Federal Government Agencies.

He has administered security analysis and penetration testing courses to representatives of the National Assembly, Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) through the annual Hacker Counterintelligence Program (HACOP) where he’s been involved as a resident trainer and technical consultant for the last couple of years. He also delivers monthly presentations to industry stakeholders at the CBN’s Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NEFF).

Past speakers include: Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director, Rack Centre Limited; and Peter Adedayo Arogundade, managing director and chief executive officer, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited, among others.

The events drew top politicians and government functionaries as well captains in the ICT industry as well financial institutions.