Top African business leaders to follow on Twitter

Ory Okolloh

Social media, specifically Twitter, has gained traction when it comes to shaping societies opinions on matters. Twitter is a platform where business leaders can utilise 140 characters in order to inform their followers on what they are working on as well share their skills and expertise.

Many leaders use social media as a platform to share their thoughts and opinions as well as business advice. Business leaders have sought out these channels to communicate ideas, plans as well as justify their actions and decisions. Some leaders use social media to announce a new move, which in most cases spreads the word quickly.

To ensure that you don’t miss out on the latest announcements or trends, IT News Africa has compiled a list of business leaders to follow on Twitter:

1. Bob Collymore

Position: CEO, Safaricom (Kenya)
Twitter Handle: @bobcollymore
Followers: 969,869

Bob Collymore is a Guyanan-born British businessman currently living and working in Kenya. He has been the CEO of Safaricom since 2010. Bob tweets about social issues, politics and about business matters. From 1993, Bob worked in various positions in the telecommunications industry in the UK, including work for Cellnet, Dixons Retail and Vodafone UK. In 2003 he moved to Japan to manage the integration of J-Phone into the Vodafone Group.

2. Michael Jordaan

Position:  Chief Executive, Montegray (South Africa)
Twitter Handle: @MichaelJordaan
Followers: 145,329

Michael Jordaan, a former banker, now heads up a private investment company, Montegray Capital and lends a strategic-hand to various businesses, including as Chairman of Wines of South Africa (WoSA). Michael is the former CEO of First National Bank. He tweets about the current political climate, business and economics. According to his company website, Michael has helped grow First National Bank into the second-largest retail bank in the country and the largest supplier of mobile devices – smartphone and tablets – in South Africa.

3. Trevor Ncube

Position: Chairman and Deputy Executive Chairman at Alpha Media Holdings (Zimbabwe) and M&G Media (South Africa)
Twitter Handle: @TrevorNcube
Followers: 78,229

Trevor Ncube is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur and newspaper publisher now living in South Africa and publishing in both countries. Trevor Ncube is the Chief Executive of Mail and Guardian, The Standard and The Zimbabwe Independent. He is also the Acting Chairman of the Commonwealth Press Union. He tweets about the political climate in both, Zimbabwe and South Africa as well as current affairs and social issues in Africa.

4. Chris Kirubi

Position: Director at Centum Investments (Kenya)
Twitter Handle: @CKirubi
Followers: 748,560

Dr Chris Kirubi is a Kenyan businessman, entrepreneur, industrialist and philanthropist. He is a Director at Centum Investments, a business conglomerate, in which he is the largest individual shareholder. Africa’s 31st richest person (according to Forbes) with interests in a variety of industries. Dr Chris Kirubi tweets about politics, business and social issues. Dr Chris Kirubi is a prominent investor in Kenya and the East Africa Region. He has invested in the Manufacturing, Media, Real Estate, Insurance and Investment Sectors of our economy. He is a passionate Ambassador for the Kenya Country Brand and was appointed by Kenya’s President to serve as Chairperson of Brand Kenya Board.

5. Grant Pattison

Position: CEO, Edcon (South Africa)
Twitter Handle: @GrantPattison
Followers: 3,965 followers

Grant Pattison is an ex-Non-Executive Director of Massmart Holdings Limited. He has also served as Chief Executive Officer for Massmart Holdings Limited. Pattison took the role of chief operating officer and CEO designate on June 5, 2017. According to Business Live, Grant has the challenge of revitalising the CNA brand, and extending Edcon’s footprint in the rest of the continent. His tweets consist of business, politics and social issues.

6. Ashish J. Thakkar

Position: Founder and MD, Mara Group (Uganda)
Twitter Handle: @AshishMaraGroup
Followers: 1, 059 725

With over a million followers, Ashish tweets about his company, opinions on politics as well as business. He is the founder of Mara Group and Mara Foundation, and he is a co-founder of Atlas Mara. Born in Uganda, Ashish began his entrepreneurial journey over 15 years ago as a high school student where he sold computers to fellow students. Mara operates in 16 countries on four continents, including Asia.

7. Ory Okolloh

Position: Director of Investments at Omidyar Network (South Africa/Kenya)
Twitter Handle: @kenyanpundit
Followers: 253,656

Ory Okolloh is a Kenyan activist, lawyer, and blogger. She is Director of Investments at Omidyar Network. She was formerly the Policy Manager for Africa with Google. She co-founded the parliamentary watchdog site Mzalendo in 2006. Ory tweets about politics, social issues as well as business. Ory earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Pittsburgh. She was previously a Chayes Fellow at the World Bank’s Department of Institutional Integrity. In 2011 Ory was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

8. Mteto Nyati

Position: Chief Executive of the Allied Electronics Corp. Ltd (South Africa)
Twitter Handle: @mteton
Followers: 11,790

An engineer who has moved into business leadership focusing on turnaround and accelerated growth situations, in the ICT space. Mteto was the MD of Microsoft and recently left his position as group chief enterprise officer at MTN in October 2014. Mteto recently joined Altron as chief executive. He usually tweets about technology, business and also tweets out motivational quotes.

9. Mthuli Ncube

Position: Chief Economist and Vice President, African Development Bank (Tunisia)
Twitter Handle: @MthuliNcube
Followers: 6,213

Vice President of the African Development Bank, Mtuli Ncube holds a PhD in Mathematical Finance from Cambridge University. He was founding Chairman of Barbican and Selwyn Capital, which are involved investment banking. He tweets about politics in Africa, the economy and social issues. Ncube held the post of Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, South Africa, and before that was Dean and Professor of Finance at Wits Business School.

10. Linus Gitahi

Position: CEO, Nation Media Group (Kenya)
Twitter Handle: @LGtwits
Followers: 211,712

Linus is the current Chairman of Tropikal Brands (Africa) Limited, Home Africa as well as Oxygène Marketing. He sits on the board of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, Federation of Kenyan Employers, United States International University (USIU) as well as several NGOs. He is immediate former Chief Executive Officer of the Nation Media Group (NMG). He is also a Fellow of the Kenya Institute of Management. Gitahi holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from The United States International University (USIU) and Bachelors of Commerce (Accounting option) degree from University of Nairobi. He tweets about social issues, business and politics to his followers.

11. Strive Masiyiwa

Position: Founder of Econet Wireless
Twitter Handle: @StriveMasiyiwa
Followers: 151,932

Zimbabwean businessman who is based in London, Strive Masiyiwa is a founder and executive chairman of diversified international Telecommunications, Media and Technology group Econet Wireless. Strive doesn’t tweet much but has a large following of over 151 000 followers. He tweets about business ventures and articles related to Africa. His business interests also include renewable energy, financial services, media and hospitality. Masiyiwa serves on a number of international boards, including Unilever, Rockefeller Foundation, the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Advisory Board, the Africa Progress Panel.

12. Tony Elumelu

Position: Acquired Nigerian commercial bank and transformed it into UBA Group
Twitter Handle: @TonyOElumelu
Followers: 440,055

A Nigerian economist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Tony Elumelu is the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, the United Bank for Africa, Transcorp and founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation. He uses Twitter to inform people of his latest adventures and inspirational quotes. He came into the limelight in 1997 when he led a small group of investors to take over a small, floundering commercial bank in Lagos.

13. Mohammed Dewji

Position: CEO of Tanzania’s METL (Tanzania)
Twitter Handle: @moodewji
Followers: 421,266

Tanzanian businessman, Mohammed is the president and CEO of MeTL Group, a Tanzanian conglomerate founded by his father in the 1970s. His tweets consist of inspirational quotes and business advice. MeTL is active in textile manufacturing, flour milling, beverages and edible oils in eastern, southern and central Africa. In March 2015 Forbes magazine named him as the 21st richest person in Africa, with his net worth an estimated US $1.1 billion, having also been the first billionaire in Tanzanian Forbes Magazine in 2013.

14. Monica Musonda

Position: Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Java Foods (Zambia)
Twitter Handle: @monicamusonda
Followers: 38,369 followers

Monica Musando is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Java Foods, a food processing company based in Zambia. With over 15 years of experience in legal practice and corporate management, including being corporate counsel at the International Finance Corporation and for Aliko Dangote of Dangote Industries Limited, Musando tweets mostly about entrepreneurship and economic issues. She is a 2013 Young Global Leader (World Economic Forum) and Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow. Forbes Magazine and Africa Investor named her as one of the leading Young Power Women in Business in Africa in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

15. Khanyi Dlomo

Position: Founder and CEO of Ndalo Media (South Africa)
Twitter Handle: @KhanyiDhlomo
Followers: 64,248

Khanyi Dhlomo is the Managing Director of Ndalo Media, which she founded in 2007. She is also the founder of DestinyConnect and the Founding Editor of Destiny Magazine. Prior to beginning her own media company, Dhlomo served as editor of True Love magazine for eight years. She tweets almost daily about news, politics and business. She was named most influential woman in South African Media by The Media magazine in 2003 and made the 2011 Forbes list of 20 Young Power Women in Africa.