Dear Friends of Top30Under30,
Regrettably, we have to postpone plans for our Top30Under30 Inaugural Awards billed for October 2008 in Abuja, Nigeria. We have been delaying this announcement in the hope that one or two avenues would change things, but unfortunately they haven’t and so it’s time to face reality.
Unfortunately we weren’t able to raise enough funds through sponsorship to cover the costs needed to make the awards hold in October, which effectively means no conference this year. We are currently looking at more innovative ways to get the financing we need for 2009.
*** Please spread the word ***
As you may know, we sought to launch this event as a pan-African initiative. But after reviewing progress, we have agreed that, this is not going to be achievable in the available time. Our team did all they could to deliver on an ambitious plan, and I commend their efforts.
We apologize to those of you who are disappointed or inconvenienced. We will not relent in our efforts to celebrate the best of Africa’s young entrepreneurs, and launch a movement of next-generation world-class entrepreneurs on the continent. Top30Under30 remains fully committed to continuing to serve its growing and passionate African and global community. We are considering a number of options, including holding the event in 2009, and expect to make a further announcement soon.
If you have any specific questions or concerns, please write to me deji@top30under30.com. Meanwhile we will continue to promote the ideals of Top30Under30 in providing enterprise development to Under 30’s in Africa. Please be in touch via our website - www.top30under30.com - we will be launching new features and initiatives as we build up to the Inaugural Awards.
Thank you for your continual interest.
Yours truly,
Ayodeji Adewunmi
Curator
Top30Under30
Putting his career on the line at the age of 43 — he quit his job at British Telecom to start his own company.
He also started mobile phone operator Celtel which is in 14 African countries. Cashing in and now rich beyond his wildest dreams, he now has his own foundation.
CNN’s Todd Benjamin caught up with him in London and began by asking him about investing in Africa.
Ibrahim: Africa was perceived, it still is to some extent, as a place which is very difficult to do business in. I don’t share that view. Africa has 53 countries, Todd. And you find that three or four countries in these 53 are dominating the news.
There is, I think, a problem with image for Africa. Whenever there is a problem with image, whenever there is a gap between reality and perception, there is a good business there. I’m an African. If I don’t do it, who else will do it?
Benjamin: With your considerable fortune, you’ve set aside $400 million for a foundation that focuses on governance in Africa, good governance. And you have an index to measure whether certain criteria are being met, and you have a prize, $5 million, to a leader who exhibits exemplary governance. What do you hope to accomplish with that?
Ibrahim: We want the civil society to own the issue of political governance. It’s the most important issue really: governance. Without good governance, Africa will go nowhere.
Second objective, we also want to encourage and support successful African leadership. African leaders work really under severe limitations and constraints. If you think what keeps our prime minister here in England awake at night — will it be the hip replacement operation queue now is three months instead of two months?
You take one of our African leaders. I have half a million HIV positive. I have problems with malaria, power generation, kids need schools, not enough schools for them, fresh water. So many issues. I really wonder how those guys sleep at night.
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So what we want to do is to support those leaders who manage really to face these problems, to take millions of people out of poverty, to build a just society, a democratic society.
Benjamin: You’re an immensely wealthy man now — worth at least a billion dollars, maybe more — and yet I’ve read where you’ve said that money’s not important to you.
Ibrahim: I hope you or your audience will believe me. I never set out really to build a financial empire or to be a wealthy man. I just enjoy what I’m doing and money happened. It’s a nice bi-product. It was an enabler. And I see the value of money really as an enabler to enable me to do the things I love to do. And I’m so grateful that I’ve made this money because I’m able to go back to Africa now and do something like the foundation.
Benjamin: For any entrepreneur, passion is the key. You can’t be thinking about money. You have to be passionate about what you do.
Ibrahim: Absolutely. Absolutely. You need to love it. You need to breathe it. You need to sleep it. You need to wake it. It is your life and you and your project are one. Look at me. I feel so young. I’m 60 years old but I feel like 20 years old because I love what I do.
Benjamin: What do you want your legacy to be?
Ibrahim: A good African boy. That’s all I want, just a good African boy who did not forget his people.
Culled from http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/03/20/boardroom.ibrahim/index.html
