Lillian Barnard, Microsoft's new chief of enterprise partner solutions for the Middle East and Africa.(Source: Microsoft)

Microsoft announced that Lillian Barnard has stepped into a new leadership role as chief of enterprise partner solutions for Microsoft Middle East and Africa (MEA).

Barnard was appointed as president of Microsoft Africa in May 2023, and she previously ran Microsoft's South African business taking over as MD in 2019.

Barnard's new role will include advancing Microsoft's partner ecosystem to help scale digital and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to aid the digital transformation of organizations and governments across the Middle East and Africa.

The company said the strategic move reflects Microsoft's continued commitment to Africa and the broader MEA region.

"Barnard's leadership will be key to helping enterprise customers harness Microsoft's platforms to build, market, sell, and strengthen their capabilities, unlocking long-term profitability and capturing the immense opportunities presented by AI," Microsoft said in a statement about her appointment.

Barnard said strong partnerships are important to help drive inclusive economic growth in the MEA region and flagged AI as a key technology for the region.

"By empowering our partners to develop and scale locally relevant technology solutions that address real-world challenges for their customers, we are enabling them to become producers as well as consumers of AI innovation. As we expand our investments in AI and digital infrastructure, our goal is to empower partners to achieve unprecedented progress across the region in the era of AI," she said.

Related:Microsoft appoints Naim Yazbeck to lead MEA

Microsoft's focus on the Middle East and Africa has been growing over the past few years.

Just last week the company announced that Naim Yazbeck would become president for Microsoft MEA.

Yazbeck is the first to hold this title because MEA was previously covered under a broader regional structure known as Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMA).

A Microsoft spokesperson told Connecting Africa that the creation of the role reflected a strategic focus on deepening Microsoft's presence and impact across what it considers high-growth markets.

South Africa remains a strategic priority for Microsoft, and the company said it is in the process of hiring a dedicated managing director in South Africa.

Kalane Rampai succeeded Barnard as managing director of Microsoft SA in mid-2023 but stepped down from the role in September 2024. Since then, Barnard has been managing the SA business as interim MD.

The firm said that under Barnard's leadership, the company has deepened its investment in local innovation, skills development and strategic partnerships.

Related:Microsoft appoints Lillian Barnard as African president

In March 2025, Microsoft said it would invest R5.4 billion (US$298 million at the time) in South Africa by the end of 2027. The investment would be used to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in the country.

In May 2024, Microsoft South Africa also pledged to invest over $71 million to support small businesses, create jobs, invest in youth skills development and ready the country for AI transformation.

Microsoft was the first hyperscale cloud provider to launch data centers in Cape Town and Johannesburg back in 2019, and it has announced plans to establish a new cloud region in East Africa through a collaboration with G42.