Featured
Every week, a curated selection of journeys and voices that capture the pulse of a continent on the move.
Mo Ibrahim
Tech Entrepreneur & Governance Advocate · Sudan
Mo Ibrahim founded Celtel International in 1998 and built it into one of Africa's leading mobile telecoms companies, providing phone access to millions of Africans for the first time. He sold Celtel in 2005 for $3.4 billion. He then created the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which publishes the Ibrahim Index of African Governance and awards the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership — the world's largest individually awarded prize ($5 million) — to former African heads of state who demonstrate exemplary leadership.
“Africa is not a poor continent — it is a continent with poor governance.”Discover their story
Newest
The latest builders to enter the Digital Archives.
Most Viewed
The profiles Archive readers read, share, and don't forget.
- 1
Mo Ibrahim
Entrepreneur · Sudan
- 2
Samuel Eto'o
Athlete · Cameroon
- 3
Nawal El Saadawi
Activist · Egypt
- 4
Youssou N'Dour
Artist · Senegal
- 5NM
Nelson Mandela
Leader · South Africa
- 6
Didier Drogba
Athlete · Cote d'Ivoire
- 7
Strive Masiyiwa
Entrepreneur · Zimbabwe
- 8DT
Desmond Tutu
Leader · South Africa
- 9
Haile Gebrselassie
Athlete · Ethiopia
- 10
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Leader · Liberia
Collections
Thematic selections to explore African excellence in all its forms.
Editor's Picks
Three journeys our editorial team has chosen to spotlight this month.
Didier Drogba
Football Legend & Humanitarian · Cote d'Ivoire
Didier Drogba is not only one of the greatest strikers in football history but also a force for peace. At Chelsea FC, he scored the equaliser and the decisive penalty in the 2012 Champions League final. But his most remarkable act came in 2006: a brief ceasefire was declared in Cote d'Ivoire's civil war to watch the national team — and Drogba personally appealed for peace on live television, dropping to his knees to beg the warring factions to lay down their arms. He is a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador and has built hospitals and schools in Cote d'Ivoire.
- ◆4x Premier League top scorer with Chelsea FC
Tirunesh Dibaba
Triple Olympic Champion · Ethiopia
Tirunesh Dibaba is the most decorated female distance runner in Olympic history. Known as the 'Baby-Faced Destroyer', she is a triple Olympic gold medallist (5,000 m and 10,000 m at Beijing 2008; 10,000 m at London 2012) and five-time World Cross Country champion. Her world record in the 10,000 m stood for over a decade. Born in the small village of Bekoji — which has produced more distance running champions per capita than anywhere on Earth — she is proof that greatness can emerge from anywhere.
- ◆Three Olympic gold medals (5,000 m & 10,000 m: Beijing 2008; 10,000 m: London 2012)
Samuel Eto'o
Football Champion & Philanthropist · Cameroon
Samuel Eto'o is widely regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time. A four-time African Footballer of the Year, he is the all-time top scorer in Africa Cup of Nations history and won the UEFA Champions League three times with three different clubs (Barcelona x2, Inter Milan x1). Alongside his playing career, he founded the Samuel Eto'o Foundation to support vulnerable children and communities in Cameroon. He became President of the Cameroon Football Federation in 2021.
- ◆4x CAF African Footballer of the Year (2003, 2004, 2005, 2010)
“Africa is not a poor continent — it is a continent with poor governance.”Mo Ibrahim