Mo Ibrahim
Mo Ibrahim
Dr Mohamed "Mo" Ibrahimis a Sudanese-British mobile communications entrepreneur and billionaire. He worked for several other telecommunications companies before founding Celtel, which when sold had over 24 million mobile phone subscribers in 14 African countries. After selling Celtel in 2005 for $3.4 billion, he set up the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to encourage better governance in Africa, as well as creating the Mo Ibrahim Index, to evaluate nations' performance. He is also a member of the Africa Regional Advisory Board of...
NationalitySudanese
ProfessionBusinessman
CountrySudan
Mo Ibrahim quotes about
Mobile phones could not work in Africa without prepaid because it's a cash society.
Mobile communications had been around for a long time, but always as a limited market, constrained by the radio spectrum.
Of course, Nelson Mandela, everybody knows Nelson Mandela. I mean, he's a great gift not only for Africa but for the whole world, actually. But do not expect everybody to be a Nelson Mandela.
Multinationals don't pay taxes in Africa - we all know that.
When you ask people what they think of Africa, they think of AIDS, genocide, disasters, famine.
Make as much money as you can, but can you please pay your taxes, because this is a major problem.
Tony Blair is paid $500,000 for one speech, and no one asks how he is going to spend it.
Women do kids. Women do cooking. Women doing everything. And yet, their position in society is totally unacceptable.
When I was young, there was only one TV channel, sponsored by the government, and it only broadcast things like what the leader had for breakfast. There was no real media.
Experience counts in government even more than in business.
Experience shows that when political governance and economic management diverge, overall development becomes unsustainable.
For citizens to become fully engaged in holding their leadership to account, accurate information is required to see where action is needed, to measure the results of policies and programmes, to build support for courageous decisions and to consolidate political legitimacy.
It's time Africa started listening to our young people instead of always telling them what to do.
The Nobel Prize is worth $1.5 million, but that's not the issue. Do the distinguished scientists who win the Nobel Prize need the money? Probably not. The honor is more important the money, and that's the case with the prize for African leadership as well.