Krishnan Ranganath gets ‘Man of the Year’ at Africa’s ICT Leadership Awards

Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Executive-West Africa at Africa Data Centres (ADC), has been awarded ‘Man of the Year title at Africa’s Beacon of Information and Communications Technology Merit and Leadership Award 2023.

The award, presented by Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, recognises Ranganath’s exceptional contributions to the data centre space in West Africa.

“We are honoured to present to Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Executive-West Africa at the Africa Data Centres, ‘Man of the Year’ award,” announced Ken Nwogbo, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek at the event held at the prestigious Oriental Hotel in Lagos.

He disclosed that Ranganath was chosen for the award by critical industry stakeholders, who believe he has brought a lot of expertise into the data centre space, which is touted as the new oil.

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Expressing his surprise and gratitude, Ranganath considered the award both heart-warming and thought-provoking, highlighting that it is a challenge for him to continue working harder.

In his presentation titled ‘Digital Transformation and Cloud Services as New Order,’ he emphasised the immense potential of the Nigerian cloud industry, projecting a compound annual growth rate of 25 percent from 2022 to 2027.

He believes that Nigeria’s cloud will lead to reduced capital flight, improved responsiveness to citizens’ or customers’ needs, increased transparency, enhanced public service delivery, and human capital, and the creation of new jobs.

Speaking about the digital gap, he argued that capacity building and promoting women in ICT are essential for bridging the digital divide and promoting inclusive growth. “In Nigeria, only 22 percent of ICT jobs are held by women. encouraging and promoting women’s participation in ICT can lead to increased innovation and economic growth,” he said.

Digital transformation and cloud services as new order will ensure the growth of Nigeria and Africa by creating a base for future generations, positioning Nigeria as the Silicon Valley for human capital, and creating value for the system and people. It will also transform Nigeria by providing new opportunities for businesses and individuals.