Two Nigerians, Ladi Delano,
the restless 30 year-
old founder and CEO of Bakrie
Delano Africa, a $1 billion
investment vehicle committed
to making acquisitions in
Nigeria’s mining, energy and
agriculture sectors; and Jason
Njoku, the 31 year-old founder
and CEO of Iroko TV have
made the recently released
Forbes Magazine ‘Ten Young
African Millionaires To Watch’
list.
According to Mfonobong Nsehe,
a Forbes Magazine contributor
who compiled the list, it
consists of a handful of young
Africans in their 20s and 30s
who have built businesses and
amassed enviable million-dollar
fortunes. While some are
corporate animals; others are
empire builders.
There are thousands of young
and immensely successful
entrepreneurs across the
African continent. There’s a
growing number of Africans
aged 40 and under who are
legitimately amassing multi-
million dollar fortunes. They
don’t inherit stuff; they build it
themselves.
The list comprised of:
Mark Shuttleworth, 38,
South African, Founder, Knife
Capital
Ashish Thakkar, 29,
Ugandan, Co-Founder and CEO,
Mara Group
Ladi Delano,
30, Nigerian, Founder and CEO,
Bakrie Delano Africa
Justin Stanford, 28, South
African, Founder & CEO, 4Di
Group
Magatte Wade, 36,
Senegalese, Founder, Adina
World Beat Beverages &
Tiossan
Mike Macharia,
36, Kenyan, Founder & CEO,
Seven Seas Technologies
Vinny Lingham, 33, South
African, Founder, Yola Inc
Kamal Budhabatti, 36,
Kenyan, CEO, Craft Silicon
Yolanda Cuba, 35, South
African, Executive Director,
South African Breweries
Jason Njoku,
31, Nigerian, Founder & CEO
Iroko TV
Here’s what Forbes had to say
about the two Nigerians on the
list:
Ladi
Delano
The jet-
setting
Nigerian
serial
entrepreneur
made his
first millions
as a liquor
entrepreneur while living in
China. In 2004, at age 22, he
founded Solidarnosc Asia, a
Chinese alcoholic beverage
company that made Solid XS,
a premium brand of vodka.
Solid XS went on to achieve
over 50% market share in
China and was distributed
across over 30 cities in China,
and pulled in $20 million in
annual revenue. Delano
subsequently sold the company
to a rival liquor company for
over $15 million and ploughed
his funds into his next venture-
The Delano Reid Group, a
real estate investment holding
company focused on mainland
China. Today, Delano is the co-
founder and Chief Executive
Officer of Bakrie Delano
Africa (BDA) – a $1 billion joint
venture with the $15 billion
(market cap) Bakrie Group of
Indonesia. Bakrie Delano Africa
serves as the investment
partner of the Bakrie Group in
Nigeria. The Indonesian
conglomerate has provided
over $900 million worth of
funds to invest in Nigeria and
Bakrie Delano Africa is
responsible for identifying
investment opportunities in
mining, agriculture and oil &
gas and executing them.
***
Jason
Njoku
The
maverick
Nigerian
Internet
entrepreneur
is
founder
of
Iroko TV, the world’s largest
digital distributor of African
movies. Iroko TV has been
dubbed the ‘Netflix of Africa’.
Earlier this year, Iroko TV
raised $8 million in venture
capital from Tiger Global
Management, a New York-
based private equity and hedge
fund run by billionaire Chase
Coleman. IrokoTV enjoys
lucrative content distribution
deals with Dailymotion, iTunes,
Amazon and Vimeo. Njoku is
unwilling to divulge figures, but
analysts believe IrokoTV could
be worth as much as $30
million. Njoku is the company’s
largest individual shareholder.
Only two woman made
the list, Magatte Wade
of Adina World Beat Beverages
& Tiossan and Yolanda Cuba.
Yolanda was 29 when she was
appointed CEO of Mvelaphanda
Holdings, a Johannesburg Stock
Exchange-listed investment
holding company.
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