The Forbes Africa Person of the Year has announced the top five candidates for this years title. The winner of this award would have had an influence on the events of the year gone by on the African continent.
The nominees are:
Aliko Dangote: founder and president of Dangote Group. Motivation: Last year's runner-up to Forbes Africa Person of The Year is still Africa's richest man, worth more $11.2 billion. Dangote continues to be one of the continent's biggest employers. He promises to donate most of his fortune to charitable causes upon his retirement.
Dr James Mwangi: CEO and managing director of Kenya's Equity Bank Limited. Motivation: Dr James Mwangi won the Ernest and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award 2012 as well as Africa's Innovation Leader of the Year Awards in 2012. Equity Bank is planning to extend its financial services to Ethiopia when the country opens its banking industry for foreign investors.
Joyce Banda: president of Malawi. Motivation: Banda, Malawi's first female leader, has restored strained diplomatic ties with neighbors and the international community. Her administration has embraced investor-friendly economic policies: she cut her salary by 30%; sold the presidential jet and a fleet of luxury cars in an austerity drive.
Tony Elumelu: founder and chairman of Heirs Holdings. Motivation: The multimillionaire grooms African business leaders and entrepreneurs through the Tony Elumelu Foundation. He is the leading advocate of Africapitalism, an economic philosophy that embodies the private sector's commitment to Africa's economic transformation through long-term investments.
Stephen Saad: co-founder of the Aspen Pharmacare. Motivation: Saad is the biggest shareholder of the largest publicly-traded drug manufacturer, Aspen. The company has a market capitalization of $6 billion. Saad became a multimillionaire at 29. Now aged 47, he employs more than 6 000 people.
To vote for who you believe deserves the title, go to www.forbesafrica.com. Voting closes on Thursday, 1 November 2012 and the winner will revealed at an event in Nigeria.
