AABLA goes regional, nominations now open

Following the inaugural awards last year, the founders have decided to extend the awards starting with the West Africa Business Leader Awards in Nigeria. The awards will then be hosted for the East Africa region in Kenya and Southern Africa in Cape Town before moving back to the finale in Johannesburg, South Africa. Winners from the regional events will then proceed through as finalists for the AABLA finale laster this year.

Rakesh Wahi, founder of AABLA and the ABN Group, says that it was important to recognise the business leaders across Africa and that the only way to do this was to host these regional awards, "CNBC Africa has almost completed five years and now have the history and credibility to honour African business leaders. The first event in 2011 was hosted in Johannesburg. Going forward AABLA will first be held across regions with a grand finale in South Africa, making it Africa's most sought after awards ceremony".

Judges

The judging panel, to remain the same as in 2011, will be headed by Yunus Suleman, chairman of KPMG. The rest of the panel includes: Prof Nick Binedell, director at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS); Russell Loubser, former CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE); and Godfrey Mutizwa, chief editor at CNBC Africa.

The regional awards will have its own judging panel with Suleman remaining as the chairman for each separate panel.

Categories

Head of ABN Productions, Jacqui Nel says that the categories for this year's awards will remain the same.

Categories for the AABLA 2012 are as follows:

• Africa Business Leader of the Year
• Young Africa Business Leader of the Year
• Africa Businesswoman of the Year
• Africa Entrepreneur of the Year
• Lifetime Achievement Award

For more, go to www.aabla2012.com