Africa
Mo Ibrahim
Chairman, Satya Capital LLP
An expert in mobile communications, Mo Ibrahim is the founder of Celtel, one of Africa’s most successful companies, as well as the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which supports good governance and leadership in Africa.
Born in Sudan, Dr. Ibrahim grew up in Egypt. He was granted an engineering scholarship in the UK, where he received a Masters in electronics and electrical engineering from the University of Bradford and a Ph.D. in mobile communications from the University of Birmingham. He went to work for Cellnet, British Telecom’s in-car telephone company, and in 1985 his team launched BT’s first cellular service in the UK. In 1989, he started his own telecommunications consultancy firm, Mobile Systems International, which was sold to Marconi for $916 million. Dr. Ibrahim went on to found Celtel in 1998 to build and operate mobile networks in Africa. The company now operates in 15 African countries, covering in excess of a third of Africa’s population, and has invested more than $750 million in the continent. In 2005, Celtel was sold to MTC Kuwait for $3.4 billion.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which awards funds to African heads of state and governments that have demonstrated excellence in African leadership, was founded in 2006. Dr. Ibrahim also developed the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which rates African countries according to the efficiency of their governance, and the African Leadership Award, the largest prize in the world. He is also the Founding Chairman of Satya Capital Ltd., a company which invests in Africa.
Dr. Ibrahim was named Entrepreneur of the Decade by Africa 2.0 and was listed in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. He has received the GSM Association Chairman’s Award, the telecommunication industry’s highest honor, and the BNP Paribas Prize for Philanthropy.