…Winners and Runners-up to be Honoured July 9–10, 2025 at The Landmark Hotel and UK House of Lords
LONDON, United Kingdom, May 31, 2025/APO Group/ --
The African Leadership Magazine (ALM) (www.AfricanLeadershipMagazine.co.uk) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA), following the conclusion of a rigorous, four-tier, points-based selection process. In keeping with our established tradition, this year’s evaluation combined 65% of the final score from the global online poll with 35% from verified documentation, including evidence of institutional growth, innovation, sustainability, and measurable impact.

Breaking News: African Leadership Magazine Announces Winners for the 2025 African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA)
The African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA) is the continent’s premier platform for recognising exceptional corporate practices, impact-driven leadership, and transformative contributions to Africa’s evolving business and economic ecosystem. The ABLA selection process includes public nominations, editorial board screening, a global public vote, and a final evaluation based on verifiable metrics to ensure that each honoree reflects the highest standards of African excellence, innovation, and measurable impact.
In line with African Leadership Magazine’s unwavering commitment to amplifying Africa’s underreported success stories, often overlooked by mainstream global media, the African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA) celebrate policymakers, industry leaders, and resilient brands that are setting standards in corporate governance, innovation, and sustainable development.
Dr. Ken Giami, Founder & CEO of the African Leadership Organisation, said in an official statement: “On behalf of the Board, we warmly congratulate the winners of ABLA 2025 for their unwavering commitment, groundbreaking achievements, and visionary leadership. Their exemplary contributions are not only transforming Africa’s business landscape but also inspiring a new era of sustainable growth and opportunity across the continent.”
The winners and runners-up will be formally presented with award trophies and other honours during the African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA) Ceremony—the major highlight of The Africa Summit London 2025—scheduled for 9–10 July 2025 at The Landmark Hotel and the UK House of Lords. Additionally, all honourees will be featured in the highly anticipated ABLA 2025 Honourees Edition of African Leadership Magazine, a prized collector’s item unveiled during the event and distributed globally.
Below is the complete list of winners and runners-up in the various categories of the African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA) 2025:
African Business Leader of the Year
- Ntombi Felicia Msiza, CEO, Raubex Group Ltd, South Africa – Winner
- Mohamed Ould Bouamatou, Founder & Chairman, Bouamatou Société Anomyme (BSA), Mauritania – Co-Winner
African Female Business Leader of the Year
- Esther Muchemi, CEO, Samchi Group, Kenya – Winner
- Jesca Mhoja Nkwabi, CEO, KOM Group, Tanzania – Co-Winner
African Regulator of the Year
- Brima M. Baluwa Koroma, Director General, National Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Sierra Leone – Winner
- Leonilde dos Santos, President, Multisectoral Economic Regulatory Authority (ARME), Cape Verde – Co-Winner
Business-Friendly Governor of the Year
- Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, Governor, Enugu State, Nigeria – Winner
- Oscar Mabuyane, Premier, Eastern Cape, South Africa – Co-Winner
Africa CSR & Community Development Impact Award
- Standard Chartered Bank, South Africa – Winner
- Ashanti Goldfields Corporation, Ghana – Co-Winner
African Finance Minister of the Year
- Ahmed Kouchouk, Minister of Finance, Egypt – Winner
- Bihi Iman Egeh, Minister of Finance, Somalia – Winner
- Marial Dongrin Ater, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, South Sudan – Co-Winner
Trade & Investment Promotion Agency of the Year
- Agency for Private Investment and Export Promotion (AIPEX), Angola – Winner
- Moroccan Agency for Investment and Export Development (AMDIE), Morocco – Co-Winner
Central Bank Governor of the Year
- Mohamed Lemine Dhehby, Governor, Central Bank of Mauritania – Winner
- Johnson Asiama, Governor, Bank of Ghana – Co-Winner
- Rama Krishna Sithanen, Governor, Bank of Mauritius – Co-Winner
Trade & Investment Minister of the Year
- Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Nigeria – Winner
- Chipoka Mulenga, Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Zambia – Co-Winner
African CEO of the Year
- Armstrong Takang, CEO, Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Nigeria – Winner
- Jeremy Awori, Group CEO, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Togo – Co-Winner
African Brand of the Year
- Ethiopian Airlines – Winner
- Commercial International Bank (CIB), Egypt – Co-Winner
African Company of the Year
- Bidco Africa, Kenya – Winner
- Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing, Nigeria – Co-Winner
Industry Personality of the Year
- Ally Edha Awadh, CEO, Lake Oil Group, Tanzania – Winner
- Jemal Ahmed Abdu, CEO, MIDROC Investment Group PLC, Ethiopia – Co-Winner
Africa Business Integrity Leader Award
- Arab Contractors, Egypt – Winner
- Coris Bank International, Togo – Co-Winner
Young Business Leader of the Year
- Mamotake Matekane, Chief Operations Officer, MGC Matekane Group, Lesotho – Winner
- Martha Namundjebo-Tilahun, Co-founder, United Africa Group, Namibia- Co-Winner
African Tech & Digital Economy Leader of the Year
- Mastercard Africa – Winner
- MTN Group, South Africa – Co-Winner
Lifetime Achievement Award
- Kwabena Kesse, CEO, Kessben Group of Companies, Ghana – Winner
Special Commendation Award for Regulatory Excellence
- Daniel Kiptoo Bargoria, Director General, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Kenya – Winner
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Leadership Magazine.
To all the self-respecting Somalilanders, I wish to see our great Somaliland compatriots to see beyond the lies of those few corrupt officials who are misappropriating our resources and selling our future generations resources without anybody questioning and stand up for them courageously so they'll know that we are not small ants and termites and we are equally responsible and care for our country. Let us stand up and say no to EX ADNOC sales man and the likes.
We have had enough of this and can't tolerate it any day longer. This is our land and Somalilander has a right to live in his own country with respect without being terrorized by RRU. let them give way to real Patriots of Somaliland to lead us to a real prosperity and not an imaginary one!
This is excellent news for Somaliland an am sure we heading the right direction and lets support our energy minister to fulfil this promise insha allah as the say they "where there is a will there is a way". In my view Somaliland has the potential to thrive and if we get the energy production up running this will bring employment, development and prosperity with this kind of much needed revenue our country can improve its infrastructure development. Together as Somalilanders we can achieve great a great deal as our population is quite small of about 3.5million and with the size of the country we occupy and the resource we should be the likes of GCC, all we need is a visionary, commitment, trusting and supporting our leaders and of course they should be accountable themselves and it’s a question of getting the cheques and balances right and we do have educated society coming from of all walks of life and with depth of diverse experience and skills from International countries.
In the light of this we should be positive and learn from past mistakes and move on and have a clear strategy as we have put in place now. Let’s forget the petty politics and personality and be patriotic and nationalists for once and put Somaliland first than any other issues.
Kolo, you've said it, we need visionaries but these people are no visionaries and i am not motivated by anything other than my love for my country, by the way i do not live in my country Somaliland but i observe and monitor what's going on in my country from abroad, so i can safely say that we've seen enough of this people and even though i supported them against their predecessors and any hope that they will perform better has just vanished now. My word of advice to my people is that wake up brothers and sisters now before it's to late!
Have a good night sleep!