Forty under 40 Africa Awards 2026 For Most Accomplished Young Business Leaders

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Nominations are open for Forty under 40 Africa Awards 2026. The Forty under 40 Africa Awards is to identify, honour and celebrate a cross-section of the continents most influential and accomplished young business leaders under the age forty from a wide range of industries we cover, who are committed to business growth, professional excellence and community service and have risen up the ranks of their companies or industries at a relatively young age as result of this.

The awards cover 40 categories, spanning sectors including agriculture, finance, education, technology, healthcare, media, manufacturing, fashion, energy, real estate, social enterprise and more.

The Forty under 40 Africa Awards is designed to identify and celebrate young business leaders across the continent who have demonstrated professional achievement, business growth and community service. The programme is open to Africans across the continent and the African diaspora, with nominees considered across a broad range of industries.

Forty under 40 Africa Awards Purpose

To recognise and celebrate emerging leaders under the age of 40 who demonstrate or impact personally and/ or professionally through their exceptional leadership.
To identify projects and individual achievements that have enabled young achievers to set them apart from their competitors and have produced clear and compelling value, return on investment, and other relevant results.
To encourage our upcoming youth that excellence and success can be achieved at a very tender age.
To help shape the narrative on Africa by highlighting the best stories of positive change from young change makers in the various fields of endeavor.

AWARDS CATEGORIES

#	Category	#	Category	#	Category	#	Category
1	Agriculture and Agro Processing	2	Architecture	3	Aviation	4	Education
5	Authorship and Creative Writing	6	Banking and finance	7	Beauty and Lifestyle	8	Marketing & Communications
9	Community Development	10	Consultancy and Professional services	11	Energy/Oil and Gas	12	Event Management & Planning
13	Food, Catering & Beverage	14	Fashion	15	Family business	16	Governance and Government Agencies
17	Health and wellness	18	Human Resource and development	19	Hospitality	20	Insurance
21	Journalism (Radio, TV, & Newspaper)	22	Law	23	Logistics and Supplies	24	Manufacturing
25	Media (Digital and Social)	26	Music & Entertainment	27	Mining and Natural resources	28	Pensions
29	Printing, Press & Publishing	30	Philanthropy and Charity	31	Real Estate Development & Construction	32	Environmental & Climate sustainability
33	Science, Technology & Innovation	34	Safety and security	35	Sports	36	Shipping and Maritime
37	Theatre and Arts	38	Transport & Automobile	39	Social enterprise	40	Telecom, Mobile & Software Development

Eligibility Criteria for Forty under 40 Africa Awards

Nominees must be a citizen of any of the 55 African nations, living on the continent or in the Diaspora.
Must be nominated by someone else other than the proposed award recipient
Nominees with repeat submissions will have no advantage over those with one nomination. The selection process is not swayed by the number of nominations an individual receives.
Nominations cannot be anonymous and letters of recommendation, Social Security, and Company Tax Documents may be required.
Nominee must still be under the age of 40 or 40 in the year of the event.
Nominee must be an Entrepreneur, Shareholder, Founder, or Co-Founder of a company.