Telecommunications

Mo Ibrahim is the founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, designed to support good governance and great leadership in Africa. The Foundation compiles an annual index that measures governance based on 86 indicators and also awards the Ibrahim Prize to an African head of state or government who has demonstrated excellence.

Ibrahim is an expert in mobile communications and founder of one of Africa’s most successful companies, Celtel International.

Founded in 1998, Celtel International has brought the benefits of mobile communications to millions of people across the African continent. The company operates in 15 African countries, covering more than a third of the continent’s population, and has invested more than US$750 million in Africa. In 2005, Celtel International was sold to MTC Kuwait for $3.4 billion.

In October 2006, Dr. Ibrahim launched the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and stepped down as Chairman of Celtel International in 2007 to concentrate on this initiative.

Sudanese by birth, Dr. Ibrahim has received a number of awards which recognise his work as an academic, businessman and philanthropist. Among them are the GSM Association Chairman’s Award (2007), the telecommunication industry’s highest accolade, and the BNP Paribas Prize for Philanthropy (2008). In 2008, Dr. Ibrahim was listed by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.