Dr Mo Ibrahim
Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
Dr Mo Ibrahim is a global expert in mobile communications with a distinguished academic and business career. More recently, he has played a leading advocacy role on issues of African development and governance, through his Foundation and through participation in a range of global initiatives.
"Providing a forum for a coherent African voice on political and economic development"
Add to my shortlistIn Detail
In 1998, Dr Ibrahim founded MSI Cellular Investments, which was later renamed Celtel International. The company operates in 15 African countries, under licences that cover more than a third of the continent's population. The company has invested more than $750 million in Africa, helping to bring the benefits of mobile communications to millions of people across the continent. In 2005, Celtel was sold to MTC Kuwait for $3.4 billion, making it one of Africa's most successful companies ever. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was established in 2006 with a focus on the critical importance of leadership and governance in Africa.
WHAT he OFFERS YOU
Dr Ibrahim himself insists he's just an engineer who happened to work hard, be in the right place at the right time and have a reasonable amount of common sense. His latest venture entails nothing less than the re-branding of Africa and the generating of pressure for better, less corrupt governments on the continent.