People: Africa's tech revolution Cheick Diarra, Microsoft Africa

MICROSOFT VS FREE Ubuntu

Microsoft also has to compete with the growing popularity of free and open-source technology. According to the New York Times, more than 10 million people are currently using South African IT billionaire Mark Shuttleworth's Ubuntu operating system, which costs nothing.

Cheick Diarra, Microsoft Africa

From navigating interplanetary missions to mapping out technology strategies, Microsoft Africa chairman Cheick Diarra's remarkable life journey has always been one of exploration.

The distinguished scientist left his small farming community in western Mali as a youngster to study in Europe and the United States, where he went on to become NASA's first African astrophysicist.

"Working at NASA has done a great thing for me in the sense that I wanted the youth of Africa to realize that your potential really is unlimited -- it depends on you," Diarra says.

source: edition.cnn.com