Google has announced the appointment of Kabelo Makwane as the new country director for South Africa, effective January 6, 2025. He succeeds Dr. Alistair Mokoena, who held the position from April 2020 until July 2024.
Kabelo Makwane transitioned to Google from Vodacom Business, where he is currently the managing executive responsible for the cloud, hosting, and security division. With more than 20 years of experience in the technology sector, Makwane brings a wealth of expertise to his new role.
Before his tenure at Vodacom, he served as managing director for the Africa Global Unit at Accenture Operations and held a similar position in Cloud and Technology Consulting. Makwane also spent eight years at Microsoft, where he was the country managing director for Nigeria and directed public sector initiatives in South Africa. In addition, he worked for five years as Cisco’s regional manager for the public sector in South Africa.
Expressing enthusiasm about his new role, Makwane stated, “I’m excited to join the team in South Africa and to help more people and businesses maximise their potential through AI, the internet, and technology in general.”
Alex Okosi, the managing director for Google Africa, expressed his excitement about Makwane’s appointment, noting, “We are thrilled to welcome Kabelo at such a pivotal moment for both Africa and Google. With the rapid digital transformation taking place across the continent, we are positioned to harness the power of AI to provide innovative solutions that will help our users, partners, and advertisers thrive in this dynamic era.”
Kabelo Makwane holds an MBA from Wits Business School (WBS) and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).
