The African Business Awards, which are now in their 7th year, will be held on the eve of the African Leadership Forum, a high level dialogue bringing together some of Africa’s leading political and business actors. The events are taking place on the fringes of the UN General Assembly, which, this year will agree on the next set of Global Development Goals.
The African Business Awards, launched in 2008, are a platform to celebrate excellence in African business, by recognising the individuals and companies that are driving Africa’s rapidly transforming economy and creating new economic opportunities for citizens and communities all over the continent. Entries are assessed by a judging panel of renowned individuals who are chosen for their expertise on the African Business Industry, with scores based on a set of qualitative and quantitative criteria.
This year’s judges are Solomon Asamoah, Vice President: Infrastructure, Private Sector and Regional Integration at the African Development Bank Group; Amadou Mahtar Ba, Chief Executive of the African Media Initiative (AMI) and co-founder and Chairman of AllAfrica Global Media; Jean-Louis EKRA, President and Chairman of the Board of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank); Barbara James, the founder and CEO of the first independent pan-African private equity Fund of Funds, Henshaw Capital Partners; Olajobi Makinwa, Head of Anti-Corruption and Transparency at UN Global Compact; and Sebastian Spio Garbrah, Global Managing Director and Chief Frontier Markets Analyst at Damina Advisors.
The 2015 nominees for the African Business Awards are:
AFRICAN BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
- Chandaria Industries, Kenya
- Dangote, Nigeria
- Ison BPO, Kenya
- Red Media, Nigeria
- Universal Auto Distribution Holding, Tunisia
BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR
- Aliko Dangote, CEO, Dangote Group, Nigeria
- Mohammed Dewji, CEO, Mohammed Enterprise, Tanzania
- Ivor Ichikowitz, CEO, Paramount, South Africa
- Bassem Loukil, CEO, Groupe Loukil, Groupe UADH, Tunisia
- Oscar Onyema, DG, The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Nigeria
MOST OUTSTANDING WOMAN IN BUSINESS
- Amy Jadesimi, MD, Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base, Nigeria
- Gina Din Kariuki, Founder & Executive Chair, The Gina Din Group, Kenya
- Daphne Mashile Nkosi, Executive Chairperson, Kalagadi Manganese, South Africa
- Jasandra Nyker, CEO, BioTherm Energy, South Africa
GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
- Guaranty Trust Bank, Nigeria
- Mephartech, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Nigeria
- YoungStars Foundation, Nigeria
AWARD FOR BEST CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
- GEMS Education and the Varkey Foundation
- ISON BPO, Kenya
- The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Nigeria
- Red Media Limited, Nigeria
AWARD FOR INNOVATION
- Abellon Clean Energy, Ghana
- International Human Resources Development Corp (IHRDC)
- Invest in Africa
- Uganda Industrial Research Institute, Uganda
- XYPNET, Zambia
The awards have had a number of distinguished winners in the past. The last edition saw Bola Adesola, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered, Nigeria winning the Most Outstanding Woman of the Year. Other previous winners include Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holdings who won the African Business Icon and H.E Mr Gervais Koffi Djondo, President of Asky Airlines, who triumphed in the Lifetime Achievement Award category.
The winners of this year will be presented at the Awards ceremony, which will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York on 23rd September.
