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
Retail banking in Africa is very weak. You can't go to a village and get money from an ATM or visit a branch of the bank. So people have to use the Internet.
Sudan cannot afford to be on the wrong side of history. The north and south will have to work together, but will they?
Africa was perceived - it still is to some extent - as a place which is very difficult to do business in. I don't share that view.
We cannot expect loyalty to an unjust regime.
I don't subscribe to the narrative that Africa is backward because of colonialism.
Intimidation, harassment and violence have no place in a democracy.
Africa has 53 countries. And you find that three or four countries in these 53 are dominating the news.
I think we need to look at ourselves first. We should practice what we're preaching. Otherwise, we are hypocrites.
What do you do if you're an executive who resigns? You declare yourself a consultant.
If Sudan starts to crumble, the shock waves will spread.
From my father, I learnt kindness and how to talk straight.
I ended up being a businessman unwittingly. I wanted to be an academic; I wanted to be like Einstein.
What is a government supposed to do for its people? To improve the standard of living, to help them get jobs, get kids to schools, and have access to medicine and hospitals. Government may not directly provide these public goods and services, but government must be accountable for whether or not they are delivered to citizens.
Business people get many undeserved prizes - golden parachutes and bonuses even when companies fail. I don't think people should get rewarded for screwing up.