Unisa CIO Mathabo Nakene-Mginqi joins the list of IT leaders in the running for the prestigious 2025 CIO of the Year title.
Mathabo Nakene-Mginqi has been nominated for the 2025 CIO Awards for her work as CIO at Unisa.
She is among the nominees competing to take home one (or more) of the nine awards up for grabs at the annual “Oscars of IT” this year, including the CIO of the Year title.
Mathabo began her role at the university in 2022, where she is the vice-principal of ICT/CIO. Prior to this, she was the group manager service development at the Airports Company South Africa.
Her experience spans across several high-profile public sector organisations, including the CSIR, Department of Land Reform and Rural Development, Department of Home Affairs, University of the Witwatersrand, Rand Water and the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency.
She began her career as a software engineer at the CSIR and has since contributed to several agencies as a board member and non-executive director. Mathabo’s educational accomplishments include a master’s in project management from the University of Pretoria and an advanced computer science degree from the University of Cape Town.
Following the success of the third annual CIO Awards in 2024, CIO South Africa continues to shine a spotlight on the finest in IT and their achievements. On 13 November, the 2025 nominees will be celebrated during a gala ceremony at The Inanda Club in Sandton.
