a Mark Magazine: Africa Dispatches feature Meet the change makers and the disrupters. Africa’s visionaries who dared to dream big and to turn their ideas into reality. These are amongst the most respected people on the continent. These are the people to know. Curated by Mandy de Waal (@mandyldewaal).
Koos Bekker
Former CEO of Naspers, Bekker helped transform the company from a national press operation into one of the world’s largest media companies in the world, with operations in some 133 countries and a revenue in 2013 of over R50-billion. Bekker took a sabbatical in April 2014, after 17 years as CEO, to travel the world. On his return in April 2015 he will become chairman of Naspers.
Mo Ibrahim
Sudanese-British mobile entrepreneur and billionaire. Founder of CelTel, which he sold in 2005 for $3.4 billion. Founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and creator of the Mo Ibrahim Index — both of which aim to evaluate leadership and governance at a government level. Founder of the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, which celebrates excellence in African leadership, and is awarded to a former executive head of state.
Dambisa Moyo
@dambisamoyo
Author of the New York Times best-seller Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa which earned her the moniker: ‘The Anti-Bono’. Moyo also authored Winner Take All: China’s Race for Resources and What It Means for the World and How The West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly – And the Stark Choices Ahead. Named by @TIME in 2009 as one of 100 people who most affect the world.
Mamadou Toure
Founder of Africa 2.0, an advocacy group aimed at developing and implementing strategies to produce positive outcomes for millions of Africans. Managing Director with General Electric Africa. Formerly with KPMG Audit France, Fortis Group (Paris) and the World Bank Group.
Amadou Mahtar Ba
@AMahtarBa
Chief Executive of the African Media Initiative. Co-founder of AllAfrica Global Media. Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Council for the Future of Journalism. Member of the Advisory Committee of the Knight International Journalism Fellowship, as well as a member of the Africa Policy Advisory Board of ONE.
Trevor Ncube
@TrevorNcube
Zimbabwean media owner and champion of investigative journalism and a free press. The publisher of The Mail & Guardian in South Africa and The Zimbabwe Independent, The Sunday Standard and NewsDay in Zimbabwe.
Ory Okolloh
@kenyanpundit
Director of investments at philanthropic firm, the Omidyar Network. Former manager of policy for Google in Africa. Co-founder of crisis crowd-mapping initiative, Ushahidi.
Chinedu Echeruo
Former investment bank and hedge fund analyst. Founder of HopStop, an online city transit guide that offers door-to-door subway and bus directions for over 140 cities around the globe. HopStop was sold to Apple in 2013 for a price reportedly in the billion-dollar range.
Alex Okosi
@AlexOkosi
Senior Vice President & Managing Director of MTV Networks Africa. The man credited with bringing MTV Base to the continent.
Isis Nyong’o
@inyongo
Formerly head of Africa operations for the global mobile advertising giants, inMobi, Nyong’o was part of MTV Africa’s start-up team. She also worked for Google. Listed as one of Forbes’ 20 Young Power African Women.
Lupita Amondi Nyong’o
Kenyan-Mexican actress, and the first Kenyan to win an Oscar, for her role in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave. Music video director. Documentary film director.
This feature first ran in Mark Magazine: Africa Dispatches — the sister print magazine of marklives.com. Sample or buy the launch issue of Mark: Africa Dispatches #1 here.
Mandy de Waal. Curious scribbler. Born-again atheist. Author on training wheels. Thought activist. Amateur human. Collector of stories. Lover of the long form. Consulting editor to MarkLives.com. Editor of Mark Magazine: Africa Dispatches.
— MarkLives’ round-up of top ad and media industry news and opinion in your mailbox every three work days. Sign up here!