2022 AABLAs honour the best of African business
The 10th edition of the All Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLAs), held in partnership with CNBC Africa at the Sun City Superbowl on Friday, 3 June, saw business leaders and visionaries come together for the first time since 2019 to celebrate Africa's most influential personalities.
Image: 2022 AABLA winners (supplied by AABLA)
“I’d like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the 2022 award winners and nominees. It was great that we were able to celebrate their accomplishments in-person this year, and take a moment to acknowledge the sterling work being done, despite the incredibly challenging circumstances,” said Roberta Naicker, managing director for the ABN Group. “The quality of leadership and talent in Africa is extensive, so I’d also like to say a big ‘thank you’ to our esteemed judging panel. The task of assessing every nominee was, no doubt, incredibly difficult. We truly appreciate the level of professionalism and expertise you brough to the 2022 AABLAs.”
The 2022 AABLA judging panel welcomed an esteemed line-up of professionals headed up by Sam Bhembe, founding director of ABN Group. Also tasked with judging this year were:
Geoffrey Qhena: Non-Executive Independent Member of Investec
Godfrey Mutizwa: Editor-in-Chief CNBC Africa
Renuka Methil: Managing Editor Forbes Africa
Jon Foster-Pedley: Dean and Director of Henley Africa
Dr Stavros Nicolaou: Group Senior Executive, Strategic Trade for Aspen Pharma Group
Prof Sarah Chiumbu: Associate Professor Department of Communication and Media School of Communication University of Johannesburg
Diane Karusisi: CEO Bank of Kigali Group
Biola Alabi: CEO of Biola Alabi Media
The panel engaged in an open roundtable discussion, covering the merits of each entry in relation to the category brief. Entries were scored by consensus against judging criteria to achieve a verdict.
| Category | Winner |
| All Africa Business Leader of the Year | Mxolisi Mgojo: CEO of Exxaro |
| All Africa Business Woman of the Year | Shirley Machaba: CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Southern Africa |
| All Africa Young Business Leader of the Year | Theo Baloyi: CEO of Bathu Shoes |
| All Africa Chief Financial Officer of the Year | Boipelo Lekubo: Financial Director of Harmony Gold |
| All Africa Industrialist of the Year | Portia Mngomezulu: Founder of Portia M Skin Solutions |
| All Africa Company of the Year | MTN Group |
| All Africa Innovator of the Year | Yoco South Africa |
| All Africa Philanthropist of the Year | Tsitsi Masiyiwa: Co-founder and Executive Chair of Higherlife Foundation |
| All Africa Lifetime Achievement Award | Dr Reuel J Khoza: Chairman of Aka Capital |
| 2022 Forbes Woman Africa Impact in Leadership Award | Naseem Lahri: Managing Director of Lucara Diamonds, Botswana |
The 2022 All Africa Business Leaders Awards are proudly presented in partnership with CNBC Africa, Forbes Africa, SNG Grant Thornton, Henley Business School Africa, the Gautrain and Olivia Jones Communications. Sponsors included Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) for the Business Leader of the Year Category; Industrial Development Corporation of SA (IDC) for the Industrialist of the Year Category; Transnational Academic Group (TAG) Young Business Leader of the Year Category; and associate sponsors Gautrain and Glenfiddich.
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