A first for Zambia, Zambeef Products CEO Francis Grogan has been named a finalist in the All Africa Business Leaders Awards sponsored by CNBC Africa, Forbes Africa and ABN Productions.

Grogan was nominated for Business Leader of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year for Southern Africa.

Zambeef is the largest integrated agribusinesses in Zambia, according to a report in UKZambians.

With 5,500 employees, Zambeef produces, processes and sells beef, chicken, pork, milk, dairy products, eggs, edible oils, stock feed, flour and bread. The company also has 20,633 acres of row crops (mainly corn, soybeans and wheat) and is rolling out its West Africa expansion in Nigeria and Ghana with a palm project in development Zambia.

Zambeef has 90 retail and three wholesale outlets in Zambia.

“Francis is an inspiration to businessmen and women across Africa,” said Debbie Baillie, CNBC Africa Business Development Manager for Zambia. “He and his team have grown Zambeef from humble beginnings into a household name that touches the lives of everyone in the country.”

Zambeef started in 1991 when Grogan and Zambian accountant Carl Irwin began building the company from a small butchery into a food processing and agribusiness conglomerate now listed on the London and Lusaka stock exchanges.

The farm’s total assets have grown more than six-fold. The company had a market capitalization of $71 million on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market as of Sept. 30, 2012.

Zambeef’s vision is to be the most accessible and affordable quality protein provider in the region, the report says.

“Zambeef is about teamwork and the efforts of all our managers and 5,500 employees who have worked to build Zambeef into the company it is today,” Grogan said. “It is nice to have that effort recognized by this nomination.”