African Business Awards 2010 nominees announced

The nominees for Business Leader of the Year are Jubril Adewale Tinubu, CEO, Oando Plc, Arnaud Lagesse, Groupe Mon Loisir, Samih Sawiris, chairman and CEO, Orascom Development, Mike Adenuga Jr, chairman, Globacom Mobile and Sizwe Nxasana, chairman and CEO, FirstRand Limited and FirstRand Foundation.

This year's Outstanding Businesswoman of the Year nominees include Laurence Do Rego, group executive director for Finance and Risk, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, CEO, Ethiopia Commodity Exchange, Nyamuhunge Julian Omalla, MD, Delight (U), Philisiwe Buthelezi, CEO, Group Five, and Brutawit Dawit Abdi, CEO and president, Zemen Bank.

The African Business of the Year Award will be contested by Bidco Oil Refineries Ltd, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Safaricom, Citadel Capital and the De Beers Family of Companies.

Nominees 2010

Business Leader of the Year

• Mike Adenuga Jr., Chairman, Globacom Mobile, Nigeria
  
• Arnaud M. C. Lagesse, CEO, Groupe Mon Loisir, Mauritius
  
• Sizwe Nxasana, Chairman and CEO, FirstRand Limited/FirstRand Foundation, South Africa
  
• Samih Sawiris, Chairman and CEO, Orascom Development, Switzerland
  
• Jubril Adewale Tinubu, CEO, Oando Plc, Nigeria

Outstanding Businesswoman of the Year

• Brutawit Dawit Abdi, President and CEO, Zemen Bank, Ethiopia
  
• Philisiwe Buthelezi, CEO, Group Five, South Africa
  
• Laurence Do Rego, Group Executive Director, Finance and Risk, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Togo
  
• Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, CEO, Ethiopia Commodity Exchange, Ethiopia
  
• Nyamuhunge Julian Omalla, Managing Director, Delight, Uganda

African Business of the Year

• Bidco Oil Refineries, Kenya
  
• Citadel Capital, Egypt
  
• De Beers, South Africa
  
• Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Togo
  
• Safaricom Ltd, Kenya

Best Global Business in Africa

• Anglo American
  
• Barclays
  
• BMW
  
• Diageo
  
• Yara

Telecoms Company of the Year

• Gateway Communications
  
• Globacom Mobile, Nigeria
  
• Mobinil, Egypt
  
• Safaricom, Kenya
  
• Tigo

Best Corporate Citizenship/ Social Responsibility


• Alliances Developpement Immobilier, Morocco
  
• Bidco Oil Refineries, Kenya
  
• BMCE Bank Group, Morocco
  
• FirstRand Foundation, South Africa
  
• Tullow Uganda Operations, Uganda

Good Corporate Governance

• Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Togo
  
• FirstRand Limited, South Africa
  
• Group Five, South Africa
  
• Nedbank Group, South Africa
  
• Nimasa, Nigeria

Winners for the following categories will be announced during the Awards ceremony:

• Award for Best Agricultural Development
  
• Award for Most Improved Investment Climate
  
• Lifetime Achievement Award
  
• Tourism Destination of the Year

The winners for theses award will be chosen from consultations with multilateral agencies, the editorial board of African Business and experts from the Commonwealth Business Council.

Organised by IC Publications, publishers of the African Business magazine, and the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), the African Business Awards 2010 brings together business leaders, entrepreneurs, heads of state and other high-ranking government officials from across the world.

Comments from the organisers

Commenting on this year's awards, Omar Ben Yedder, publisher of African Business magazine, said: "Every year we honour those who have contributed significantly to the dynamic and confident Africa we see today. It is heartening to see this list of successful entrepreneurs in a variety of fields growing longer each year. The quantity, but more importantly the quality of entries for this year's awards has been exceptional. It is notable that companies taking part in the awards this year are not just focused on growing their profits, but committed to sustainable business strategies that take into explicit account the triple bottom-line. I think this is absolutely crucial if the continent is to continue its phenomenal growth that it has experienced over the past few years."

Mohan Kaul, director general and CEO of the Commonwealth Business Council stressed the importance of the African Business Awards: "There has been a notable change in the perceptions of doing business in Africa recently. Africa is now seen as a market ready to take off exponentially, widely touted as the 'last frontier' where opportunities are waiting to be seized. And yet the African Business Awards has for the past three years been championing the achievements of the continent's world-class companies and leaders who have done exactly that. They have no doubt contributed much to Africa's changed image. CBC is proud to have partnered with African Business over the years to champion the achievements of Africa's unsung heroes, and spread their names and success stories far and wide."

And the judges are:

The independent panel of judges will decide on the final winners of each award. The judges for this year's Awards are Omari Issa, CEO, Investment Climate Facility for Africa, Amadou Ba, president and director, AllAfrica Global Media, Stephen Hayes chairman, Corporate Council on Africa, Tim Turner, director - private sector, African Development Bank, Yvonne Ike, consultant and ex-MD at JP Morgan Chase, and Jean-Louis Ekra, CEO, Afrexim Bank.

For more information, go to www.theafricanbusinessawards.com.

The African Business Awards is held in conjunction with the Africa Business Forum 2010, taking place in London 21-22 June prior to the 36th G8 Summit in Canada. The African Business Awards 2010 is sponsored by NIMASA, Castel Beer, Ecobank Transnational Ltd. and Access Bank Uk Plc. The preferred airline sponsor for the awards is Arik Air.