South Africa’s ICT trailblazers honoured at inaugural SAICTA awards gala
The ICT sector’s brightest stars, pioneering innovators, and influential leaders were honoured at the South African ICT Association’s (SAICTA’s) inaugural ICT Excellence Awards Gala Dinner.
Held at the Johannesburg Country Club in Auckland Park, the evening recognised excellence, innovation, leadership and professional contribution within the South African ICT sector. The Awards, which were not just a reflection of recognition, are the start of a new phase in SAICTA’s evolution.
“These Awards are about building a culture in which ICT professionals, startups, women in tech and young trailblazers are seen, valued and encouraged to continue making a meaningful contribution to our country in the digital future,” SAICTA CEO Dr Jannie Zaaiman says.
As the Awards were the first under SAICTA, there were four categories, with winners drawn from the 30 short-listed finalists. “The calibre of submissions has been exceptionally strong. Across all categories, we saw work that is technically excellent, commercially relevant, and socially impactful, says Zaaiman.
An independent panel of judges, comprising Prof. Deborah Oluwadele, Prof. HB Klopper, Prof. Joey Jansen van Vuuren, and Dr Jabu Mtsweni, brought deep expertise across industry, academia, and policy to the evaluation process.
Zaaiman adds that every finalist is actively shaping the country’s digital future. The Startup of the Year and Young ICT Trailblazer categories drew significant excitement on the night, with emerging innovators demonstrating impressive agility in tackling real-world problems.
The winners in each category were:
Young ICT Trailblazer: Matshepo Soto
A software engineer at Nedbank, Soto founded the EmpowerHer Tech Foundation and has become a widely recognised voice for women in technology, taking her advocacy for gender equality in tech to international platforms.
Startup of the Year: DB Digital Marketing Agency
Based in Cape Town, DB Digital is a full-service digital marketing agency helping small businesses grow their online presence across South Africa through search-engine optimisation, web design, content marketing, and paid advertising.
Women in Tech Excellence: Dr Makaziwe Makamba
A computer scientist and senior researcher at the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution South Africa (C4IR SA), Dr Makamba holds a PhD in Computer Science from UNISA. The founder of the Rise Science non-profit organisation, she is a committed advocate for women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and the power technology can play in addressing poverty and inequality.
ICT Professional of the Year: Jacqui Muller
Muller works across automation, education, and business strategy. A UiPath Most Valued Professional and Director of JPanda Solutions and Tegnika Unlimited, she is also a PhD researcher in automation governance at North-West University and a contributor to global frameworks for responsible technology adoption.
“The fact that the vulnerability is already being actively exploited, combined with the absence of a permanent patch at this stage, significantly increases the risk profile,” Muller says.
By this year, attackers were using AI to scale and accelerate cyber crime, which extends from generating code and automating attacks, to crafting convincing phishing and deepfake scams. The AI Incident Database lists more than 7 000 incidents in which AI was used as a hacking tool.