DIGITAL ECONOMY LIVE ANCHORS DIALOGUE AS HON. SAMUEL NARTEY GEORGE DELIVERS DEFINING KEYNOTE AND 15TH DIA HONOURS AFRICA’S DIGITAL LEADERS

Digital Economy Live opened its 2026 edition at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City under the theme “Building Africa’s Digital Future: Inclusion, Infrastructure & Intelligent Growth,” drawing policymakers, regulators, technology leaders and industry executives for two days of high-level exchange.

The programme began with ceremonial opening remarks Akin Naphtal, Group Chief Executive Officer of InstinctWave and Group Publisher of Digital Economy Magazine, observed that “Digital Economy Live and the accompanying awards serve as mechanisms for converting dialogue into institutional standards. He noted that the presence of ministers, regulators, ambassadors and enterprise leaders in Accra demonstrated growing recognition that digital infrastructure, cybersecurity and inclusive access must be treated as core economic policy rather than isolated technology projects.”

Subsequent addresses came from Folorunso Aliu, Group CIO of Dangote Industries Limited; H.E. Roey Gilad, Ambassador of the State of Israel to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone; and Mr. Rolf Olson, US Ambassador to Ghana.

Minister’s Keynote Frames Inclusion and Infrastructure as Twin Priorities

Hon. Samuel Nartey George’s keynote address, delivered as DEL Chief Host, positioned inclusive digital access and resilient infrastructure as inseparable requirements for intelligent growth. He emphasised that Africa’s digital future depends on policy frameworks that expand connectivity beyond major cities, protect data sovereignty, and ensure that public and private investment produce measurable improvements in service delivery.

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The address aligned with earlier remarks by H.E. Roey Gilad and Mr. Rolf Olson on international partnerships, and with Folorunso Aliu’s contribution on industrial digitalisation. Panels that followed explored connectivity and regulation, the digital economy’s role in financial inclusion, and cyber resilience, with contributions from leaders including Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako, Evelyn A. Lewis of SBTS Group, and representatives of UniCloud Africa and Dunatos Tech.
The structure of the programme placed the Minister’s address at the centre of the day’s narrative, linking policy ambition to the practical innovations later recognised at the awards.

15th DIA Awards Honour the top leaders of Africa’s Digital Backbone

The 15th Digital Innovation Awards began with recognition of those building the continent’s foundational layers. Mr. Opeyemi Ajiboye, MD/CEO of Dunatos Tech, received the Digital Infrastructure CEO of the Year award for advancing connectivity solutions that support enterprise and public-sector digitalisation. Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako, Executive Chairman of e-Crime Bureau, was named Cybersecurity Institution Builder of the Year for strengthening institutional capacity against digital threats.

Enterprise and Innovation Awards Underscore Practical Digital Progress

Gbenga Adegbiji, CEO of Geniserve Limited, took the Digital Infrastructure Leader of the Year honour for expanding reliable infrastructure services across markets. Engr. Oluwafemi Temitope Fajemirokun, Head of IT, Telecommunications and SCADA Division at the West African Power Pool, received the Public-Sector Digital Transformation Personality of the Year award for applying technology to regional energy coordination.
Mrs Kodou Jeng, President and Founder of Women in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (WiSTEM) in The Gambia, won the Gender Equity in Technology Leadership Award for expanding women’s participation in technical fields. Funmilayo Lamptey, Managing Director of Comsys Ghana Limited, was named Tech Woman of the Year for sustained leadership in enterprise technology solutions.

Comsys received the Enterprise Solutions Hall of Fame Award in recognition of long-standing contributions to technology delivery across the region. SBTS Group was named Digital Transformation Provider of the Year for supporting organisational modernisation programmes. Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE took the Best Digital Industrial Innovation award for integrating digital systems into large-scale industrial operations. e-Crime Bureau also secured the Best Cybersecurity Compliance & Governance Innovation Award for advancing standards that protect institutional systems.

Comsys further received the Best Customer Experience of the Year (B2B) award for consistent service delivery to enterprise clients. Standard Chartered’s Online Fixed Income (OFI) mobile app was recognised as Best Digital Fixed Income & Wealth Innovation for improving access to fixed-income products. Unicloud was named Emerging PanAfrican Sovereign Cloud Provider of the Year for developing regional cloud capabilities. Comsys additionally won ISP Provider of the Year, while Standard Chartered Bank Ghana received Digital Innovation Bank of the Year. Comsys closed the major enterprise category as Enterprise Solutions Company of the Year.

Naphtal Underscores the Role of Credible Platforms in Sustaining Momentu

Naphtal added that the awards, by recognising both established providers and emerging actors such as Unicloud and individual leaders across public and private sectors, help set benchmarks that governments and companies can adopt. He expressed confidence that the discussions on sovereign cloud, digital financial services and cyber resilience would inform ongoing policy work in Ghana and neighbouring markets, reinforcing the platform’s value as a continental reference point for measurable digital progress.