African Leadership Magazine Announces Nominees for the 16th African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA) 2026

African Leadership Magazine (www.AfricanLeadershipMagazine.co.uk) today announced the nominees for the 16th African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA) 2026, which recognize outstanding African business leaders, policymakers and enterprises driving economic transformation, innovation, governance excellence and sustainable development across the continent. Public voting for the awards is now officially open and will run until 22 May 2026, giving people across Africa and the diaspora the opportunity to participate in celebrating and affirming exceptional leadership and institutional impact in Africa's business and public sectors.

Now in its 16th year, the African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA) has become Africa's premier platform to recognize transformational leadership, corporate excellence and outstanding contributions to the continent's economic growth and global competitiveness.

The selection process began with an open call for nominations, followed by a rigorous editorial screening and shortlisting exercise conducted by the African Leadership Magazine Editorial Board. The ongoing public voting phase now allows stakeholders from Africa and the diaspora to directly participate in the selection process, while the final phase will include a comprehensive editorial evaluation of the voting results, supporting evidence, measurable impact and institutional performance before the official announcement of the winners. The share of public votes in the final decision-making process is 65%, while the remaining 35% is based on supporting evidence and editorial evaluation, ensuring a transparent, credible and merit-driven selection framework.

The 2026 nominees represent Africa's leading business executives, reform-driven policymakers, multinational corporations, financial institutions, regulators and emerging enterprise leaders whose contributions continue to strengthen the business ecosystem, deepen regional integration, attract investment and advance the continent's global competitiveness.

The winners of the 16th African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA) will be formally honored and presented with the instruments of their honor during the awards ceremony and strategic stakeholder events to be held on 2-3 July 2026 at the prestigious House of Lords, London, United Kingdom, which will convene senior business executives, policy makers, investors, diplomats, regulators and influential stakeholders from across Africa and the international community.

Full List of Nominees for the 16th African Business Leadership Awards (ABLA) 2026

African Business Leader of the Year

1. James Mwangi, Group MD/CEO Equity Group Holdings PLC, Kenya
2. Daniel McCorley, Executive Chairman, McDan Group, Ghana
3. Adora Umeojie, Group Managing Director/CEO, Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria
4. Mohammed Mansour, Chairman, Mansour Group, Egypt
5. Sayu Dantata, Founder and Chairman, MRS Holdings Limited, Nigeria

African Female Business Leader of the Year

1. Halima Aliko Dangote, Group Executive Director, Dangote Industries, Nigeria
2. Akiko Seyoum Ambaye, Founder and CEO, Orchid Business Group PLC, Ethiopia
3. Catherine Lestedi, CEO Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited (BIHL)
4. Kapumpe Chola, CEO First National Bank (FNB) Zambia
5. Catherine Tchoconte, CEO Airtel Madagascar
6. Fatoumata Mbalu Sanogo, CEO Petrosi Holding, Côte d'Ivoire

African Finance Minister of the Year

1. John Mbadi Ngongo, Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Economic Planning, Kenya
2. Nadia Feta Alaoui, Minister of Economy and Finance, Morocco
3. Cassil Ato Forson, Minister of Finance, Ghana
4. Louis-Paul Motazé, Minister of Finance, Cameroon

Central Bank Governor of the Year

1. Ayob Tekelign, Governor, National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE)
2. Yvonne Sana Bangui, Governor, Bank of Central African States
3. Lesetja Kganyago, Governor, South African Reserve Bank
4. Emmanuel Tutuba, Governor, Bank of Tanzania

Business-Friendly Governor of the Year

1. Alex Oti, Executive Governor of Abia State, Nigeria
2. Wawinya Ndeti, Governor of Machakos County, Kenya
3. Adenech Abebe, Mayor of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

African CEO of the Year

1. Boye Olusanya, Group Managing Director/CEO, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc.
2. Sebastião Gaspar Martins, President and CEO, Sonangol Group, Angola
3. Jeremy Awori, CEO, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Togo
4. Nour Eddine Daoud, President and CEO, Sonatrach Group, Algeria

African Company of the Year

1. Vodacom Group, South Africa
2. Dangote Group, Nigeria
3. Orascom Construction, Egypt
4. Coris Bank International, Burkina Faso
5. OCP Group, Morocco

African Brand of the Year

1. ethiopian airlines
2. Airtel Africa
3. United Bank for Africa
4. Attijariwafa Bank (Morocco)

African regulator of the year

1. National Communications Authority, Ghana
2. Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA)
3. Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority (EFDA)
4. Banque Central du Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Industry Personality of the Year

1. Ahmed Elsewedy, Group President/CEO, Elsewedy Electric, Egypt
2. Yasser Shaker, CEO Orange Middle East and Africa (OMEA)
3. Owen Silawwe, MD/CEO, Copperbelt Energy Corporation PLC, Zambia
4. Bio Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Limited)

Trade and Investment Minister of the Year

1. Shadia Alimatou Assoumane, Minister of Industry and Trade, Benin
2. Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, Minister of Trade, Cameroon
3. Basilio Zephanius Muhate, Minister of Economy, Mozambique
4. Rui Miguenes de Oliveira, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Angola

Trade and Investment Promotion Agency of the Year

1. Ethiopian Investment Commission
2. Uganda Investment Authority
3. InvestSA (South Africa)
4. Economic Development Board Mauritius (EDB Mauritius)
5. Ghana Investment Promotion Center

Young Business Leader of the Year

1. Abdul Karim Diallo, Director General, Société Nationale d'Organisation et de Commerce (SONOCO) Guinea
2. David Mantiziba, Founder/CEO, Wildfin Microfinance Zimbabwe
3. Yahya Tarek Diab, CEO, Veros Petroleum Limited, Ghana
4. Daniel Akali Quizombe, CEO, DEK Engineering & Electrical Contractors, Malawi
5. Imad Bouboukir, CEO, MI Travaux – Morocco

African Tech and Digital Economy Leader of the Year

1. Galaxy Backbone Nigeria
2. safaricom kenya
3. Ethiopia Telecom (Ethiopia)
4. Botswana Fiber Network (BoFiNet)

CSR & Community Development Impact Award

1. MasterCard Africa
2. Debswana Diamond Company (Pty) Ltd, Botswana
3. East African Breweries Limited
4. Bakharesa Group, Tanzania
5. Namdeb Diamond Corporation (Pty) Ltd (Namibia)

Africa Business Integrity Leader Award

1. KCB Group (Kenya)
2. Salam Somali Bank
3. Generale de Banque de Mauretania (GBM)
4. CBAO Group Attijariwafa Bank, Senegal
5. Mauritius Commercial Bank

Capital Market/Stock Exchange of the Year

1. ghana stock exchange
2. egyptian exchange
3. Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange – Tanzania
4. Uganda Securities Exchange
5. Nigerian Exchange Group

African Diaspora Business Leader of the Year

1. Adebayo Ogunlesi, Global Infrastructure Partners/BlackRock, Nigeria
2. Ismail Ahmed, Founder/President, WorldRemit, Somaliland
3. Helmy Eltoukhy, President, Guardant Health, Egypt

lifetime Achievement Award

1. Sam Jonah – Executive Chairman, Jonah Capital Equity Fund, Ghana
2. Jim Ovia, Founder, Zenith Bank Nigeria

To cast your vote go to: https://www.AfricanLeadershipMagazine.co.uk

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Leadership Magazine.

For media and other enquiries:
ehis eyre
Group General Manager, African Leadership Magazine UK
ehis@africanleadershipmagazine.co.uk
+44 203 051 1883

About African Leadership Magazine:
African Leadership Magazine, published by the African Leadership Organization (UK), presents the best of Africa to a global audience – telling the African story from an African perspective while putting forward practical solutions to the continent's most pressing challenges. For more than 19 years, we have supported influential leadership and promoted African opportunities around the world through an integrated ecosystem of Afro-positive content, trade facilitation and market-entry support, high-level networking platforms and targeted public sector training and advisory services.

For updates and announcements regarding the 2026 African Business Leadership Awards, follow African Leadership Magazine on its official platforms