In a rare and unanimous recognition of lifetime achievement in African internet development, Michuki Mwangi, Distinguished Technologist for Internet Growth at the Internet Society (ISOC), has been named the recipient of the Africa Peering Pioneer Award – the highest honour presented at the 2025 Africa Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF) in Lagos.
The award, presented during the AfPIF/Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN)Annual Awards, marks a pivotal moment in the continent’s digital transformation journey. Mwangi, long regarded as one of Africa’s most influential internet architects, was celebrated for his two-decade-plus contribution to building local infrastructure, internet exchange points (IXPs), and communities of practice around peering and interconnection.
“He didn’t just build infrastructure – he built a movement,” said Muhammed Rudman, Chief Executive Officer, IXPN, a local host, while describing Mwangi’s role in co-designing the Internet Society’s Interconnection and Traffic Exchange program, which laid the foundation for AfPIF itself more than 15 years ago.
Before joining ISOC in 2008, Mwangi managed Kenya’s.KE registry and helped operationalize the Kenya Internet Exchange Point (KIXP), which has since grown into one of East Africa’s core traffic hubs. His advocacy and technical leadership contributed to the deployment of critical DNS and root server infrastructure across Africa, reducing latency and keeping more data local.
Today, through ISOC and his global engagements with AfNOG, AfriNIC, ICANN, and others, Mwangi continues to shape policy, infrastructure, and investment in Africa’s digital backbone – an influence now recognized by peers across the global internet governance community.
The awards also honored a constellation of engineers, policymakers, and network operators for their consistent commitment to the continent’s interconnection evolution.
Thirteen individuals, including Frank Habicht (Tanzania Internet Exchange); Nishal Goburdhan, (Packet Clearing House); Mark Tinka (SEACOM); Kyle Spencer (African IXP Association); Hisham Ibrahim (RIPE NCC); Fearghas McKay (FLEXOPTIX GmbH); Michele Opiyo (Meta/Internet Society); Ben Roberts (DigitalEconomy.ke); Andrew Owens (NAPAfrica); Jane Coffin (Connect Humanity); Darwin Da Costa (DE-CIX) and Nico Tshintu Bakajika (Internet Service Provider Association – DRC)] were named Africa Peering Champions, a distinction reserved for those who have played critical roles in expanding IXPs, mentoring ecosystem leaders, and enhancing regional connectivity.
The AfPIF Consistent Supporters Award went to industry stalwarts such as Fiona Asonga (Technology Service Providers of Kenya); Carla Sanderson (NAPAfrica/Teraco); Nurani Nimpuno (London Internet Exchange (LINX)); Yolandi Robinson (De-CIX); Matthew Chigwende (Group Head of Network Engineering at Liquid Telecoms); Mathieu Paonessa (CTO GVA); Heather Third (NSRC); Ben Ryall (Meta); Caglar Dabanoglu (AKAMAI); Simon Mayoye (TESPOK); Jorgen Grinnes (AWS); Madhvi Gookol (AfriNIC); Edrich de Lange (INX-ZA / ISPA); Patrick Christian (TeleGeography); Dr. Ayotunde Coker (Open Access Data Centres) and Prof. Meoli Kashorda (Kenya Education Network), in recognition of their sustained support across multiple editions of the annual forum.
Additionally, the AfPIF Leadership Award was presented to the Internet Society’s internal team, including Dawit Bekele and Marsema Tariku, Dawit Bekele, MarsemaTariku, Betel Hailu, Sally Harvey, Jean Baptiste Millogo, Ghislain Nkeramugaba, Henok Sisay, Kevin Chege, and Amreesh Phokeer for their operational stewardship and quiet leadership in executing one of Africa’s most impactful internet events.AfPIF started as a platform to reduce Africa’s reliance on offshore routing and has grown into a cornerstone of the region’s internet economy strategy. With traffic localization, cost reduction, and regulatory compliance now urgent priorities, the technical and policy collaboration championed at AfPIF has taken on even greater strategic weight.
This year’s event took place in Lagos for the first time and was hosted by IXPN, Rack Centre, and Af-CIX. A pivotal moment occurred during the event when the Internet Society (ISOC) officially transferred the management of the African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF) to AF-IX, the Africa Internet Exchange Point Association. This transfer symbolizes a generational handoff, as it empowers newer actors within the industry to assume leadership roles in shaping the future of Africa’s interconnection ecosystem.
