African Leaders – Missed out on $5 Million prize!

Wow… Now that would have been a prize!!!

I can’t believe that the board could not find not one African leader worth the prize!

According to CNN, Mo Ibrahim, is  a Sudanese-born businessman who made a fortune in the cell phone industry, he  established the foundation bearing his name in 2006.  According to Ibrahim, when the foundation began awarding the prize, he said at the time “that there may be years when no winner is chosen, and this is such a year.”
There is a lot of money to be made in Africa’s cell phone industry… Seriously! I bet Ibrahim is a billionaire.  Most people don’t have land lines and  so for most who now own cell phones, they just buy phone cards  ( which are riduculosly prized) to use.  One can spend $100 or even more a day on phone cards… very easily.  For most, text messaging is the way to communicate.  The last time i was in Tanzania i spent $500 on phone cards, and i was only there for a month. On the more positive note though,  it is good people can own cell phones, you can talk to people in the villages anytime, day or night.. you don’t necessarily have to take a trip to see how your loved one is doing.