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Unga Limited Techie Tom Mboya Wins Coveted CIO Award

FRANCIS MUTINDANov 23, 20211.1k

CIO of the Year 2021 Tom Mboya. [Photo/ Courtesy]

Tom Mboya, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Unga Limited has been awarded the prestigious CIO of the Year award after he trumped his peers on November 19 in an event organised by CIO Africa, a leading technology publication in Africa.

The nominees for Africa CIO of the Year included last year’s winner Jaine Mwai, the first woman to ever win the coveted award, Ramakrishna Potluri, Steven Obare, Francis Kamuyu, and Kenneth Ogwang.

“I think it is great to pause and celebrate good leadership in this sector, given its contribution during Covid-19. It has become clear in the past two years that most organizations’ decisions on COVID-19 were driven by interventions and events that were happening at the global level. This is not uncommon for problems that are transboundary in character. And we are likely to see more and more of this. The question is, how will this context shape our leadership decisions?” posed Ezra Chiloba, the Director-General at the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).

He talked about the role of CA in the context of technology, citing that, “On our part as the sector regulator, we were not spared by the COVID-19 challenges. If anything, the dramatic shift by the world towards maximising the use of IT during the pandemic, meant that we had to think outside the box to make the new ways of living possible. Our acknowledgement of the problem meant that we take unprecedented regulatory interventions. Not just to stabiles the sector, but to ensure that citizens continue to enjoy our services during the COVID-19 period.”

The Africa CIO of the Year award is determined by fellow CIOs who assess and deliberate on the most accomplished CIO of that year in a rigorous selection process.

“Each year, we have a team of judges from across Africa weighing the applications the CIOs share. We had a total of 450 applications. From this number, we whittle it down and shortlist the top candidates for the awards. With this being our 13^th year, we are proud to say that we have had the support of the industry, and this is something we want to give back to the hardest working and least recognised members of any organisation – the tech team. Tom Mboya has worked exceptionally hard and deserves this recognition,” said Andrew Karanja, Director, CIO Africa.

The peer-to-peer recognition is what determines which CIO claims the title, Africa CIO of the Year based on applied technologies that improve the bottom line, set the organization apart from their competitors, offer creative solutions, and save money.

“It has been 25 years of hard work. I have gotten a lot of support. I know people who have previously won the Africa CIO100 Awards and I really respect them,” said Mboya.

Other winners in other categories include:

Manufacturing Sector Award – Dangote Projects Ltd., Nigeria

Banking Sector Award – Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya Ltd.

Insurance Sector Award – Zep-Re (PTA Reinsurance).

Health Sector Awards – M.P. Shah Hospital

Public Sector Award – National Social Security Fund (NSSF)

Education Sector Award – Moringa School

Local Government Sector Award – County Government of Mombasa

Hospitality Sector Award – Sarova Hotels & Resorts

SACCO Sector Award – Safaricom SACCO Ltd

Transport Sector Award – Kenya Airways Plc

GreenEdge Award – Uku’hamba Prosthetics & Orthotics (Pty) Ltd