The All Africa Young Business Leader of the Year is Edha Nahdi, CEO of Amsons Group. Jason Xenopoulos, CEO of Native is the All Africa Entrepreneur of the Year, presented by Sea Harvest. Segun Agbaje, CEO and MD of GTBank won the All Africa Business Leader of the Year, presented by Bosch.
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The title of All Africa Business Woman of the Year went to Louisa Mojela and Gloria Serobe of WIPHOLD. Wendy Ackerman of The Ackerman Foundation received the All Africa Philanthropist of the Year - one of two new awards added to the line-up.
Aliko Dangote, Chairman and CEO of the Dangote Group became the first to be named the All Africa Industrialist of the Year, presented by the IDC. In 2011, Dangote won Africa Business Leader of the Year and Africa Entrepreneur of the Year at the inaugural AABL.
Forbes Woman Africa, the media partner, which had awarded Wendy Appelbaum the Forbes Woman Africa Business Woman of the Year award in September, went on to recognise her as the Forbes Woman Africa Woman of the Year for 2015. Appelbaum is the only person in the history of Forbes Africa and Forbes Woman Africa to have appeared on both covers.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the All Africa Lifetime Achievement Award, in association with the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency, awarded to Dr Christo Wiese, for his diverse achievements predominantly in the retail sector over the period of a lifetime.
The ceremony also took a moment to remember some of Africa's notable business leaders who had passed on since the last AABLA in 2014, including Exclusive Books founder Philip Joseph, Murray Grindrod Senior of Grindrod and chairman of Allan Gray SA, Simon Marais.
The highlights of the ceremony will be broadcast in a 90-minute special on CNBC Africa on 18 November at 9.15pm CAT.
