13 African countries for CIO Awards

The seventh CIO and C-Suite Conference and Awards Africa has attracted about 160 nominations from 14 African countries.

The event, held on Tuesday in Victoria Island, Lagos.

A Partner at Deloitte, Mr Olawal Noiki, said the award selection involved multiple stages of assessment, including reviews of business cases, evidence of impact and the value delivered by nominees to their organisations and the wider economy.

He said submissions were evaluated by experts and two panels of jurors before finalists and eventual winners were selected.

According to him, the assessment considered the business challenges addressed by each initiative, its beneficiaries and the results achieved.

“The event is really about honouring the individuals that are powering Africa’s digital future — the CIOs, the teams and the organisations that are adding value both to their businesses and ultimately to the African economy,” he said.

The Director, Payments System Supervision Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mrs Rakiya Yusuf, said data localisation had become critical as digital payments, e-commerce, cloud computing and artificial intelligence continued to transform economic activities.

She reaffirmed the CBN’s directive requiring financial institutions and participating payment service providers to store and manage relevant payment data and associated assets in Nigeria by January 1, next year.

Yusuf said the policy was intended to protect sensitive information, strengthen regulatory oversight and improve the resilience of the financial system.

However, she identified unreliable electricity supply, inadequate data centres, connectivity gaps, cybersecurity requirements and increased operational costs as challenges to implementation.

She warned that poorly designed localisation policies could also restrict innovation and competitiveness, calling for a balanced regulatory framework.

In her keynote address, delivered on behalf of the NGX Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Temi Popoola, the Group Chief Strategy Officer, Mrs Jumoke Olaniyan, said effective data management and reliable digital systems could strengthen investor confidence and improve African businesses’ access to capital.

She said weak information governance and unreliable systems could increase perceived business risks, prolong investor due diligence and raise the cost of capital.

Olaniyan cited the NGX Invest platform, which she said had facilitated more than ₦3 trillion across over 23 transactions since its launch in 2024, as an example of how digital infrastructure could expand access to the Nigerian capital market.

She urged technology leaders to build secure, interoperable systems that would support regional trade and investment while meeting regulatory requirements.

Earlier, the Convener of CIO and C-Suite Projects Africa, Ms Abiola Laseinde, said the initiative, which began in 2020, had evolved into a continental platform for recognising technology leaders whose contributions to business and economic development often received limited public attention.

She said representatives of 13 African countries attended the event, thanking the jurors, sponsors, technical partners and volunteers for sustaining the initiative.

The conference was held under the theme, Leading the Next Africa.

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