Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Makes Forbes List of Most Powerful Women of 2012

Nigerian minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been listed with 10 other black women in Forbes 2012 list of the most powerful women in the world. She was ranked number 81 on the list.

Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel was listed first on the list, followed by US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama is the highest ranked black woman, coming in at number 7.

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey comes in at number 11 and Stefani “Lady GaGa” Germanotta is the highest ranked artiste at 14.

Angela Merkel, Hillary Clinton Most ‘Powerful’ Women – Forbes

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are the world’s most powerful women, according to Forbes magazine’s annual survey.

Following the two stateswomen in the 2012 rankings was Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff.The list covers women in fields as diverse as politics, business, media, entertainment and non-profits, their rankings determined by calculating wealth, media presence and overall impact.

The 100-strong list at www.forbes.com/power-women includes
25 CEOs overseeing $US984 billion ($938 billion) in revenues. The women come from a total of 28 countries, with an average age of 55. Sixteen women enter the list for the first time, including singer Jennifer Lopez, former US Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, Meg Whitman of HP and Marissa Mayer of Yahoo.

Lady Gaga, the pop singer, makes it to 14 and at 26 years old is the youngest. The oldest, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, who is 86, ranks only at number 26.

Others in the top tier include US First Lady Michelle Obama at seven, and Indian President Sonia Gandhi at six. The first female executive editor of The New York Times, Jill Abramson, is at five, while influential philanthropist Melinda Gates is ranked fourth.

For Ms Merkel, the top spot comes for the second year in a row and reflects her role in trying to resolve the European Union’s financial crisis. She “is the ‘Iron Lady’ of the European Union and the lead player in the euro zone economic drama that continues to threaten global markets,” Forbes said.

Mrs Clinton, the magazine says, “has had a formidable past 12 months” and is set to resign at the end of they year.

Another major US political figure, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, makes nine on the list. She is also the first female head of that department.

“This year’s Power Women exert influence in very different ways, and to very different ends, and all with very different impacts on the global community,” said Moira Forbes, president of ForbesWoman.

“Whether leading multi-billion-dollar companies, governing countries, shaping the cultural fabric of our lives, or spearheading humanitarian initiatives, collectively these women are changing the planet in profoundly powerful and dynamic ways.”

FORBES AFRICA August Edition: 20 POWERFUL WOMEN - Linda Ikeji Featured

Donning the cover on the August issue is one of Africa’s richest women Wendy Appelbaum as she talks about ‘why women in the boardroom should be making noise’.

Although the list is yet to be released online by Forbes, people are already excited and eager to know who made it.

‘It has been a long struggle for women in business, which is far from over. History even records the first woman to work in an office in Johannesburg. It was in 1894, screens were put up around her because it was not appropriate for her to be seen – more on this in the cover story of the August issue’, says Managing Editor for Forbes Africa, Chris Bishop.

Popular Nigerian blogger Linda Ikeji is also featured in the magazine. Forbes describes Ikeji, a former model and magazine publisher,as ‘Nigeria’s highest paid blogger’ in the article ‘Beauty, Brains and the Business of Blogging’.

‘This edition also includes the Forbes list of Africa’s most prominent women as well as interviews and inspirational stories of some of the continent’s most powerful woman to date‘, he concludes.

Iroko TV Founder, Jason Njoku & CEO of Bakrie Delano Africa, Ladi Delano make Forbes Magazine’s ‘Ten Young African Millionaires To Watch’ List

Two Nigerians, Ladi Delano, the restless 30 year-old founder and CEO of Bakrie Delano Africa, a $1 billion investment vehicle committed to making acquisitions in Nigeria’s mining, energy and agriculture sectors; and Jason Njoku, the 31 year-old founder and CEO of Iroko TV have made the recently released Forbes Magazine ‘Ten Young African Millionaires To Watch’ list.

According to Mfonobong Nsehe, a Forbes Magazine contributor who compiled the list, it consists of a handful of young Africans in their 20s and 30s who have built businesses and amassed enviable million-dollar fortunes. While some are corporate animals; others are empire builders.

There are thousands of young and immensely successful entrepreneurs across the African continent. There’s a growing number of Africans aged 40 and under who are legitimately amassing multi-million dollar fortunes. They don’t inherit stuff; they build it themselves.

The list comprised of:

Mark Shuttleworth, 38, South African         Founder, Knife Capital
Ashish Thakkar, 29, Ugandan                         Co-Founder and CEO, Mara Group
Ladi Delano, 30, Nigerian                                 Founder and CEO, Bakrie Delano Africa
Justin Stanford, 28, South African                 Founder & CEO, 4Di Group
Magatte Wade, 36, Senegalese                         Founder, Adina World Beat Beverages & Tiossan
Mike Macharia, 36, Kenyan                             Founder & CEO, Seven Seas Technologies
Vinny Lingham, 33, South African                 Founder, Yola Inc
Kamal Budhabatti, 36, Kenyan                      CEO, Craft Silicon
Yolanda Cuba, 35, South African                    Executive Director, South African Breweries
Jason Njoku, 31, Nigerian                                 Founder & CEO Iroko TV
Here’s what Forbes had to say about the two Nigerians on the list:
Here’s what Forbes had to say about the two Nigerians on the list:

Ladi Delano

The jet-setting Nigerian serial entrepreneur made his first millions as a liquor entrepreneur while living in China. In 2004, at age 22, he founded Solidarnosc Asia, a Chinese alcoholic beverage company that made Solid XS, a premium brand of vodka. Solid XS went on to achieve over 50% market share in China and was distributed across over 30 cities in China, and pulled in $20 million in annual revenue. Delano subsequently sold the company to a rival liquor company for over $15 million and ploughed his funds into his next venture-The Delano Reid Group, a real estate investment holding company focused on mainland China. Today, Delano is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bakrie Delano Africa (BDA) – a $1 billion joint venture with the $15 billion (market cap) Bakrie Group of Indonesia. Bakrie Delano Africa serves as the investment partner of the Bakrie Group in Nigeria. The Indonesian conglomerate has provided over $900 million worth of funds to invest in Nigeria and Bakrie Delano Africa is responsible for identifying investment opportunities in mining, agriculture and oil & gas and executing them.

Jason Njoku

The maverick Nigerian Internet entrepreneur is founder of Iroko TV, the world’s largest digital distributor of African movies. Iroko TV has been dubbed the ‘Netflix of Africa’. Earlier this year, Iroko TV raised $8 million in venture capital from Tiger Global Management, a New York-based private equity and hedge fund run by billionaire Chase Coleman. IrokoTV enjoys lucrative content distribution deals with Dailymotion, iTunes, Amazon and Vimeo. Njoku is unwilling to divulge figures, but analysts believe IrokoTV could be worth as much as $30 million. Njoku is the company’s largest individual shareholder.

Only one woman made the list, Yolanda Cuba. She was 29 when she was appointed CEO of Mvelaphanda Holdings, a Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed investment holding company.

What do you think about the entire list and the Nigerians that made it on the list?

20 Nigerian Companies who made the Forbes Africa Top 25 Companies in West Africa Honoured in Lagos – See Which Companies Made the List

Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank PLC and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated were among the 25 companies honoured by Forbes Africa and ABN Productions at the Forbes Africa top listed West African Companies Awards Ceremony recently.

The event titled, “The Top Listed West African Companies” was a celebration of the success of risk takers and job creators. The list covered the Top 25 companies in the West African capital market comprising of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Ghanaian Stock Exchange and the Abidjan-based Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières SA (Regional Securities Exchange SA) or BRVM.

The awards were ranked in terms of market capitalization, revenue and profit. Mr. Chris Bishop, Managing Editor Forbes Africa before presenting the awards to the top five companies said “All too often the lists of the world have overlooked the success of African companies. Nights like this show how important successful African companies are in the progress of the world economy.”

According to organisers, the Forbes Africa Top Listed West African Companies celebrates the success of risk takers and job creators. It is an important initiative that aims to encourage organisations to strive for sustained excellence and also promote their profiles not only in their home country but around the world.

Impressively, 20 Nigerian companies made it to the list of T0p 25 companies in West Africa. They include:

• Dangote Cement
• Zenith Bank PLC
• Ecobank Transnational Incorporated
• Nigerian Breweries Plc
• First Bank Plc
• Guaranty Trust Bank Plc
• United Bank for Africa
• Guinness Nigeria
• Nestlé Nigeria
• Access Bank
• Flour Mills Nigeria
• Union Bank of Nigeria
• Stanbic IBTC
• First City Monument Bank
• Lafarge Cement WAPCO
• Total Nigeria
• Unilever Nigeria
• PZ Cussions
• UACN
• Cadbury Nigeria Plc

According to Forbes, Nigeria has 20 of the best 25 companies in West Africa. What do you think about this?

News Source: AllAfrica.com