Nigeria, Kenya Top List of Africa’s 100 Economic Leaders Under 40

 Onyedimmakachukwu Editor's Pick, Leadership

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VENTURES AFRICA – Independent Think Tank Institut Choiseul has published its first edition of 100 African economic leaders of 40 years and under who it says are those that will play a major role in the development of Africa in the near future.

The list which has 39 year old Nigerian oil magnate and CEO of Taleveras Group Igho Sanomi at the top is dominated by Nigerians and Kenyans with 18 representations each, and closely followed by Morocco and South Africa with 17 representations each.
Choiseul says its Choiseul 100 Africa is an original annual study that identifies growing business leaders, successful entrepreneurs, and investors that embody the dynamism and renewal of a whole continent and carry the hopes of an entire generation.
Among the top ten of the Choiseul 100 Africa are
Tanzanian billionaire entrepreneur Mohammed DewjI, 39, sitting in number 2, Female Angolan billionaire investor Isabel Dos Santos, 40, in number 4 and Africa’s youngest billionaire Ashish Thakkar, 33, at number 9, three of them were featured in Ventures Africa’s The Richest People in Africa 2013.
42 of the 54 African countries were represented in the study, of 58 came from West Africa, 50 from East Africa, 44 from North Africa, 25 from Central Africa: and 23 from Southern Africa.
Finance, NICT and Agrobusiness are among the most represented sectors, but Choiseul says Energy, transport and construction are down compared to their potential.
In a unique feat, women are more represented in the list, with 58 in the premier edition. Choiseul describes African women 40 years and under as “among the most innovative entrepreneurs of their generation” stating that they are pioneer in many areas, including finance and institutional settings.
Pascal Lorot, President of Institut Choiseul said of Choiseul 100, “With new emerging great powers, dynamic and flourishing businesses in all sectors, in all areas, Africa evolves, changes, reinvents itself. Thus, throughout the continent, major projects are opening, innovative initiatives are developing, growth levers are being created”.
Established in 1997 and covering Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa, Institut Choiseul says through its publications and the organization of prestigious events around influential personalities, it continually feeds the decisions of economic and political actors.