-Pesaflow, IHS Cameroon S.A are multiple winners
The 11th Africa Digital Economy Awards (ADEA) honoured excellence across the continent’s digital landscape on 19 September 2026 at the Emara Ole-Sereni Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, recognising a total of 36 outstanding winners ,19 organisations and 17 individuals, who are shaping Africa’s digital future.
Powered by InstinctWave Group in partnership with Digital Economy Magazine, ADEA returned to Nairobi for the fourth consecutive year as Africa’s premier platform for celebrating innovation, digital transformation and leadership. The awards bring together technology visionaries, corporate executives, policymakers and digital pioneers from across the continent under one roof.
This year’s winners reflect the breadth and depth of progress across critical sectors of the digital economy. Among the organisational recipients are Huawei, named Digital Economy Enabler of the Year; Pesaflow, which secured both Digital Payments Gateway Provider of the Year and Fintech of the Year; Digital Realty Nigeria as Datacenter of the Year (West Africa);
IHS Cameroon S.A was recognised as Digital Inclusion Infrastructure Award winner and Tower Company of the Year; Digital Parks Africa as Fastest Growing Africa Datacenter of the Year; Unicloud Africa as Sovereign Cloud Provider of the Year; Liquid Intelligent Technologies for Best Digital Transformation in Artificial Intelligence; Cassava Technologies as AI Solutions Provider of the Year; and Serianu as Cybersecurity Provider of the Year.
Other organisational winners include Bulsho Fiber Link, Nia Fiber, CyberAce, Vilcom Network, Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), TechConnect, Tetranet Services and Tejas Networks.
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On the individual front, the awards celebrate leaders who have demonstrated exceptional impact. Carolyn Ndambuki was named Public Sector IT Personality of the Year, while Dr Magdalyne Kamande received the Digital Transformation Leader of the Year award. Hamza Adam was recognised as Emerging ISP Leader of the Year, and Joy Karwitha Kaaria as Cyber Security Woman of the Year.
Meanwhile, Dr. Nihinlola Mary Fafore and Agnes Limo, MBS, were both honoured in the Digital Economy Woman of the Year category.
Violet Kalomba was named Digital Economy Trailblazer of the Year, William Makatiani inducted into the Cybersecurity Hall of Fame, and Hardy Pemhiwa recognised as Africa Digital Leader of the Year. Other individual winners include Opeyemi Ajiboye, Barbara Melem, Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, Neeraj Pradhan, Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, Akeem Ogunkoya, Wole Abu and Dr Ayotunde Coker.
Reacting to the announcement of the winners, Akin Naphtal, Group CEO of InstinctWave Group and Group Publisher of Digital Economy Magazine, said:
“The 11th Africa Digital Economy Awards once again affirm the extraordinary talent, innovation and leadership driving Africa’s digital transformation. From infrastructure and cybersecurity to artificial intelligence, fintech and inclusion, these 36 winners represent the very best of what the continent has to offer.
ADEA continues to serve as the definitive platform that recognises excellence, inspires collaboration and accelerates Africa’s journey toward a more connected, competitive and inclusive digital economy. We congratulate every winner and look forward to celebrating their achievements in Nairobi.”
