Before Sudan-born Mo Ibrahim made good governance in Africa his main concern, he helped change perceptions of the continent in other ways, helping usher in its mobile revolution, according to a report in DeseretNews.
Ibrahim helped create the fastest-growing mobile phone market in the world when most the large operators balked at the idea of doing business in Africa, John Hoffmire writes in a DeseretNews editorial. The continent’s mobile penetration is allowing Africans to leapfrog infrastructure limitations and embrace the promises of modernization and technological advances.
Born in Sudan in 1946, Ibrahim describes himself as Nubian. “Therein may lay the psychological genesis of his attempt and efforts to transform the continent where he traces his heritage,” Hoffmire said. “The seeds of his transformative vision are embedded in his psychological disposition, background and experiences.”
Ibrahim specialized in mobile communications at a time when it was unfashionable, and he did pioneering work in the reuse of radio frequencies and control of radio waves. After transitioning from academia to business, he spent a frustrating time with British Telecom as the technical director of Cellnet (now O2), according to DeseretNews.
After leaving British Telecom, Ibrahim formed Mobile Systems International (MSI), designing technical specifications for operators.
He set a precedent in a pre-share-owning culture. The employees of MSI held 30 percent of the stock when it was sold to Marconi for $916 million in early 2000.
Likewise when his next company, Celtel, was sold for $3.4 billion in 2004, the staff shared $500 million, and 100 people, most of them African, became millionaires.
His latest venture, under the name of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation (MIF), was established in 2006 and entails rebranding Africa by supporting good governance and exceptional leadership on the continent.
Through its work, the foundation shines a light on critical issues confronting Africa and
offering African leaders a way to help transform the potential and the promise of the continent.
The governance challenge is to harness Africa’s abundant natural and human resources to transform the living standards of people across the continent. Failure of governance and
leadership is largely responsible for the dismal scenario that blunts and corrodes Africa’s potential, Hoffmire said.
“A paradigmatic shift in the social ethos of the continent can only happen when leaders shape the way in crafting new political narratives, underpinned by socially inclusive, sustainable and people-centric themes,” he said.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation awards the $5 million Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership to African executive heads of state or government who are elected democratically and leave office within the constitutionally mandated term.
Past laureates include Joaquim Chissano, (Mozambique), Festus Mogae (Botswana) and Nelson Mandela (South Africa) — leaders who Hoffmire said embodied the desired expression of leadership that promises to ameliorate Africa’s afflictions and address
its formidable challenges.
The continent needs heroes who exemplify enlightened and dedicated leadership, responsive to the needs of every individual in their jurisdiction.
