Lutz Ziob the Dean of the 4Afrika Academy, part of Microsoft\'s 4Afrika program through which the company actively engages in Africa\'s economic development to improve its global competitiveness. This is a multi-year initiative that represents Microsoft\'s increased commitment to Africa, built on the dual beliefs that technology can accelerate growth for Africa, and Africa can also accelerate technology for the world. To do this, Microsoft is focusing on three critical areas – Access, Innovation, and World-class skills.
World-Class Skills aims at providing world-class education services, both online and offline, to help Africans develop skills for improved employability, entrepreneurship, and global competitiveness. The 4Afrika Academy offers technical, business and leadership skills to youth, small and medium enterprises, and the broad Microsoft partner community in Africa.
Before moving to Johannesburg in September 2013, Ziob was the General Manager of Microsoft Learning, a training and skills development organization reaching millions of Microsoft customers worldwide. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2002, Ziob was VP of Certification at CompTIA, an globally operating ICT industry association. Previously, Ziob was director of Worldwide Education Sales Programs at Novell, Inc. and a sales account manager for WordPerfect Corporation in Germany. Ziob was a research fellow at the University of Bochum, Germany and the University of London, UK, where he specialized in comparative studies of European education.