Voting open for Forbes Africa Person of the Year

The five finalists for the Forbes Africa Person of The Year 2014 are:

• Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man who has donated large amounts of his wealth to community development and upliftment;
  
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, world-renowned Nigerian author who penned Half a Yellow Sun and is also known for her "We should all be feminists" TED Talk;
  
• Thuli Madonsela, a South African advocate and the nation's public protector who helped draft the country's constitution in 1994 and was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People this year;
  
• Donald Kaberuka, the Rwandan economist who has ushered in significant change for the continent during his 10 years tenure as the president of the African Development Bank; and
  
• Arunma Oteh, the director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission who is responsible for the regulation of Nigeria's capital markets.

The Forbes Africa Person of the Year Awards will take place at the Capital Club in Nairobi, Kenya, on 4 December 2014.

"This is always one of the big nights of the year in Africa and the person we choose is a talking point throughout the following year. Every year I get phone calls from around the globe to speak about how we chose the winner. This is an award we at Forbes Africa always look forward to," says Chris Bishop, Forbes Africa's managing editor.

Voting is open to the public at www.poy2014.com from 24 October and will form part of the judges' final decision.