Khota, an industry veteran with 25 years' experience in enterprise software sales, cloud solutions, and digital transformation, was previously the head of SAP SuccessFactors for the region. In his new role as Managing Director for Emerging Africa, Khota will report directly to Sergio Maccotta, Senior Vice President at SAP Middle East and Africa - South.

Commenting on the appointment, Maccotta says: "Emerging Africa is a strategic growth market for SAP, and Shiraz's leadership will be pivotal in expanding our commitment and presence in this vibrant region. SAP's transition to cloud-first solutions and the RISE with SAP initiative has already simplified the technological transition for large enterprises. We are excited to see how Shiraz's leadership will drive SAP's contribution to helping people and businesses thrive in this region."

AI skills in focus

The announcement comes as SAP releases its latest report, Africa's AI Skills Readiness Revealed', which provides research into how African companies are transforming their skills development efforts to meet the demands of the Age of Artificial Intelligence.

"The need for AI skills continues to grow, with half of Nigerian organisations and 43% of Kenyan ones expecting a 'significant' increase in demand for AI skills in 2025," says Khota. "The consequences of poor AI skills availability are already evident. Ninety-seven percent of Kenyan organisations in our research said they were unable to take on new client projects call for AI skills, while 93% of Nigerian organisations said a lack of AI skills is leading to failed innovation efforts."

SAP's latest report follows an earlier tech skills report released in 2023 which unveiled specific challenges and opportunities for African organisations seeking greater tech skills availability. In that survey, companies were dealing with the complexities around remote and hybrid work environments, and attracting, retaining and upskilling tech workers.

"This year, Africa's business landscape has been transformed by the impact of AI and the realities of sourcing and training relevant skills, says Khota.

Overall, the most in-demand tech skills across regions are cybersecurity (cited by 86% of companies surveyed), AI developer skills (85%), and Generative AI skills (83%). Cloud skills (79%), data analytics (66%) and digital transformation skills (64%) were also in high demand.

"Beyond pure technical skills, African companies are seeking greater affordability (62%), adaptability (56%) and the ability to work in hybrid or remote work environments (49%) as their most prized attributes when recruiting."

Training, skills development essential

Khota adds that companies are investing in reskilling and upskilling of their workforce to meet growing tech and AI skills demand. "Nearly half of(47%) of the Nigerian companies that formed part of our research said reskilling of employees is a top skills-related challenge for them in 2025, while 53% of Kenyan organisations cite upskilling as a major challenge."

Encouragingly, the data reveals greater employee access to training and skills development opportunities. Thirty-seven percent of companies across regions said their employees have access to skills development and training at any time, a significant increase over 28% who said the same in the previous research.

"However, the allocation of IT or HR budgets toward skills-related initiatives has declined since 2023. Organisations must reconsider this and ensure they invest in appropriate skills now. Their ability to leverage new innovations and emerging technologies will shape their innovation and growth ambitions. Without access to the right skills, companies will fail to realise the full potential of their innovation efforts."

SAP's 'Africa's AI Skills Readiness Revealed' report is now available and can be downloaded at [URL]