Mo Ibrahim Foundation

Mo Ibrahim (Uppsala, Sept. 2014)

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was established in 2006 with a focus on the critical importance of leadership and governance in Africa.

It was founded by Dr. Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese philanthropist and businessman who founded telecommunications company Celtel International in 1998.

Dr. Ibrahim is the Chair of the Board. Other Board members are Lord Simon Cairns, Nathalie Delapalme, Hadeel Ibrahim, Abdoulie Janneh, Sir Ketumile Masire, Jay Naidoo, Mary Robinson and Salim Ahmed Salim.^[1]

The Foundation’s Secretariat is based in London.

Goals

The stated aims of the foundation are to "bring about meaningful change on the continent, by providing tools to support progress in leadership and governance".^[2]

The Foundation, which is a non-grant making organisation, focuses on defining, assessing and enhancing governance and leadership in Africa through four main initiatives:

• Ibrahim Index of African Governance
• Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership
• Ibrahim Forum
• Ibrahim Fellowships and Scholarships

The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership

The Ibrahim Prize celebrates excellence in African leadership. It is awarded to a former Executive Head of State or Government by an independent Prize Committee composed of eminent figures, including two Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.

The Ibrahim Prize:

• recognises and celebrates African leaders who have developed their countries, lifted people out of poverty and paved the way for sustainable and equitable prosperity 2008

• highlights exceptional role models for the continent

• ensures that Africa continues to benefit from the experience and expertise of exceptional leaders when they leave national office, by enabling them to continue in other public roles on the continent

With a $5 million initial payment, plus $200,000 a year for life, the Prize is believed to be the world's largest, exceeding the $1.3m Nobel Peace Prize. Former South African President Nelson Mandela, former United States President Bill Clinton, and former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan are among those who have welcomed the initiative.^[3]

The winner of the Prize is chosen by an independent Prize Committee. The Committee is chaired by Salim Ahmed Salim, who took over from former chair Kofi Annan in 2011.^[4] Other members of the Committee are Festus Mogae, Martti Ahtisaari, Mohamed ElBaradei, Mary Robinson, Aïcha Bah Diallo and Graça Machel.

• In 2007 the inaugural Prize was awarded to former president Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, for "his role in leading Mozambique from conflict to peace and democracy."^[5] Nelson Mandela was also made an Honorary Laureate in recognition of his extraordinary leadership qualities and achievements.^[6]
• In 2008 Festus Mogae, former leader of Botswana, won the Ibrahim Prize. Kofi Annan stated: "President Mogae's outstanding leadership has ensured Botswana's continued stability and prosperity in the face of an HIV/AIDS pandemic, which threatened the future of his country and people."^[7] Both awards ceremonies were held in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
• In 2009 the Prize Committee did not select a winner. The controversial decision came following the consideration of "credible candidates" and was interpreted by many as a laudable act in establishing a standard of credibility for the Prize.
• In 2010 the Prize Committee decided not to award the prize.^[8] Dr. Ibrahim said that "the purpose of the Foundation is to challenge those in Africa and the world to debate what constitutes excellence in leadership. The standards set for the prize are high, and the number of eligible candidates small. So it is always likely that there will be years when no prize is awarded."^[9]
• In 2011 the Prize was awarded to Pedro Pires, former president of Cape Verde.^[10] Salim Ahmed Salim, Chair of the Prize Committee, presented President Pires with the award at a prize ceremony in Tunis, Tunisia.^[11] On the evening before the ceremony the Foundation organised a music concert with the theme ‘Africa Celebrates Democracy’ to mark the events in Tunisia that inspired the Arab Spring. Artists including Youssou N’Dour, Angélique Kidjo, Bendir Man and Lotfi Abdelli performed and all the proceeds were given to the Tunisian Red Crescent.

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance

Established in 2007, the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) provides an annual assessment of the quality of governance in African countries. Compiled by combining over 100 variables from more than 30 independent African and global institutions, the IIAG is the most comprehensive collection of data on African governance.

The IIAG provides a framework for citizens, governments, institutions and the private sector to accurately assess the delivery of public goods and services, and policy outcomes, across the continent. As well as being a tool to help determine and debate government performance, the IIAG is a decision-making instrument with which to govern.

The Foundation defines governance as the provision of the political, social and economic goods that a citizen has the right to expect from his or her state, and that a state has the responsibility to deliver to its citizens. The IIAG assesses progress under four main conceptual categories: Safety & Rule of Law, Participation & Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity and Human Development. These four pillars are populated with data that cover governance elements ranging from infrastructure to freedom of expression and sanitation to property rights.

The IIAG allows users to benchmark governance performance across a number of dimensions at the national, regional and continental levels. Scores and ranks are available for all years from 2000, enabling the analysis of trends over time. All of the underlying data used in the construction of the IIAG are freely available and transparently published alongside a comprehensive methodology.

The IIAG is compiled using many international and African sources. A full list of sources can be found at www.moibrahimfoundation.org/iiag-methodology.

It was first published in 2007 in partnership with Kennedy School of Government Professor Robert I. Rotberg and ranked the performance of the 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The Index is now compiled by a research team based at the Foundation under the guidance of an Advisory Council,composed of eminent academic and professional experts in the various fields of governance and is a forum to debate and improve the IIAG.^[12] In 2009, the Index included all 53 African countries for the first time, including those in North Africa.

• 2007 Index: Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Botswana were ranked first, second and third, while Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Somalia held the third lowest, second lowest and lowest places respectively. Ibrahim's home country, Sudan, ranked fourth lowest. The Economist noted that small island countries seemed to do better than their counterparts on the mainland.^[13]
• 2008 Index: Mauritius, the Seychelles and Cape Verde were ranked first, second and third, while Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Somalia held the third lowest, second lowest and lowest places respectively. The 2008 Index found that two thirds of sub-Saharan African countries saw an improvement in governance.^[14]
• 2009 Index: Mauritius, Cape Verde and the Seychelles were ranked first, second and third, while Zimbabwe, Chad and Somalia held the third lowest, second lowest and lowest places respectively. The 2009 Index found that Southern Africa was outpacing North Africa in governance performance.^[15]
• 2010 Index: Mauritius, the Seychelles and Botswana were ranked first, second and third, while Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia held the third lowest, second lowest and lowest places respectively. The 2010 Index showed overall improvements human and economic development but declines in political rights, personal safety and the rule of law.^[16]
• 2011 Index: Mauritius, Cape Verde and Botswana were ranked first, second and third, while Zimbabwe, Chad and Somalia held the third lowest, second lowest and lowest places respectively. The 2011 Index illustrated that countries that pursue a balanced approach to all dimensions of governance achieve the most success.^[17]
• 2012 Index: Mauritius, Cape Verde and Botswana were ranked first, second and third, while Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia held the third lowest, second lowest and the lowest places respectively. The 2012 index showed declines in overall score and in the safety and rule of law.^[18]
• 2013 Index: Mauritius, Botswana and Cape Verde were ranked first, second and third, while Eritrea, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia held the third lowest, second lowest and the lowest places respectively.^[19]

The Ibrahim Forum

The Ibrahim Forum is an annual high-level discussion forum tackling issues of critical importance to Africa. The Forum convenes prominent African political and business leaders, representatives from civil society, multilateral and regional institutions as well as Africa’s major international partners to identify specific policy challenges and priorities for action. A detailed, data driven analysis of each Forum issue is compiled by the Foundation in advance as the basis for an informed and constructive debate.

Previous Forums have dealt with: Africa: The next 50 years (2013 hosted in Addis Ababa), African Youth (2012 hosted in Dakar), African Agriculture (2011 hosted in Tunis) and African Regional Economic Integration (2010 hosted in Mauritius).

The Ibrahim Leadership Fellowships and Scholarships

The Ibrahim Leadership Fellowships form a selective programme designed to mentor future African leaders. The Fellows receive mentoring from the current leaders of key multilateral institutions.

From 2011 – 2013 Fellows were hosted at AfDB, UNECA and WTO. From 2014 onwards the WTO was replaced by a Fellowship at the ITC.

The Ibrahim Scholarships were established in 2007, to support and develop the talent of outstanding young Africans in selected disciplines. Current partnerships are with AUC, LBS, SOAS and the University of Birmingham.

References

External links

• Mo Ibrahim Foundation Official website
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