fbpx

12 African Business Leaders Worth Following On Twitter

12 African Business Leaders Worth Following On Twitter

13 of 13

African business leaders make use of social media to communicate with and mentor their followers, dropping pearls of wisdom in under 140 characters.

Twitter is becoming a popular short-message platform in which to connect with the masses, and some of the top businessmen and women in Africa tweet out to thousands of followers around the globe.

From South Africa to Nigeria, the high profile personalities and multi-millionaires from Africa offer their opinions on many issues while advancing their own agendas through social media.

Here are 12 African business leaders who are worth following on Twitter.

Sources: ITNewsAfrica, Twitter, SASocialMediaLandscape.

http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/2014/06/11-questions-african-startups-must-answer-cnnafrica/
Chris Kirubi likes to interact with followers. Photo: capitalfm.co.ke

Chris Kirubi – @CKirubi

Kenyan businessman Chris Kirubi is very active on Twitter, discussing matters with his 528,000 plus followers on the platform. The media mogul, who is one of the richest people on the continent, often uses hashtags like #AskKirubi to chat with followers.

NBA Partners With Zimbabwe's Econet
Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa. Photo: mg.co.za

Strive Masiyiwa – @StriveMasiyiwa

The Executive Chairman and Founder of the Econet Group has close to 100,000 followers on Twitter, and he has been an active member of the social media site since January 2012. Masiyiwa often comments on African business while publicising news about his business interests.

Tony Elumelu. Photo: businesswire.ng
Nigerian business leader Tony Elumelu is on Twitter. Photo: businesswire.ng

Tony Elumelu – @TonyOElumelu

One of the continent’s most influential entrepreneurs, Elumelu is a Nigerian business tycoon and philanthropist with over 242,000 followers on Twitter. He is currently chairman of Heirs Holdings and the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Newafricanmagazine.com/Bob Collymore
Bob Collymore is the CEO of Safaricom. Photo: Newafricanmagazine

Bob Collymore – @bobcollymore

Collymore became the governance director for Africa at Vodafone and Kenyan subsidiary Safaricom in 2006. In 2010 he was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Safaricom, and he uses Twitter to communicate with his 711,000 plus followers.

Egyptian Naguib Sawiris is a popular figure on Twitter. Photo: Ventures Africa
Egyptian Naguib Sawiris is a popular figure on Twitter. Photo: Ventures Africa

Naguib Sawiris – @NaguibSawiris

Egyptian investor and politician Sawiris has an incredible Twitter following of over 2.8 million people. In 2011 he turned his focus to politics, but before that he was executive chairman of telecommunications giants Wind Telecom and Orascom Telecom Holding.

South African business leader and former FNB CEO Michael Jordaan. Photo: Stock Shop Daily
South African business leader and former FNB CEO Michael Jordaan. Photo: Stock Shop Daily

Michael Jordaan – @MichaelJordaan

South African venture capitalist and former First National Bank Chief Executive Jordaan is another of the African business leaders who uses Twitter as a tool to express his opinion on a variety of issues and interact with over 120,000 people who follow him on the social media network.

Ashish Thakkar. Photo: Venturesafrica.com
Ashish Thakkar. Photo: Venturesafrica.com

Ashish J. Thakkar – @AshishJThakkar

Daredevil investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist Thakkar is followed by a whopping 1 million Twitter followers, and is very active online. He is the founder of Mara Group, a Pan-African conglomerate with interests in internet, telecom and communications, property, manufacturing and finance.

Vimal Shah, African family business
Vimal Shah is based in Kenya. Photo: agenceecofin.com

Vimal Shah – @VimalAfrica

The Kenyan CEO of Bidco Oil Refineries, the largest manufacturer of edible oils in the East African region, uses his Twitter account to share inspirational quotes from philosophers and business leaders with over 60,000 followers.

investment in African economies
Aliko Dangote is now on Twitter. Photo: africansuccess.org

Aliko Dangote – @AlikoDangote

Over 239,000 people on Twitter follow Nigerian billionaire and richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote. The owner of the Dangote Group joined Twitter in 2013, and while he may not be as active as some of the others on this list, he often uses the platform to push philanthropic causes.

Tanzania's Richest Man
Mohammed “Mo” Dewji, CEO, MeTL Group. Photo: Forbes.com

Mohammed Dewji – @moodewji Dewji

Over 291,000 followers on Twitter interact with Dewji, the CEO of Tanzania’s METL, a conglomerate with interests in manufacturing and distribution. He often tweets business success quotes and links to stories about African business.

Zimbabwean businessman Trevor Ncube is a media master. Photo: Bulawayo24 News
Zimbabwean businessman Trevor Ncube is a media master. Photo: Bulawayo24 News

Trevor Ncube – @TrevorNcube

Zimbabwean entrepreneur and publisher Ncube is an avid user of Twitter, with over 63,000 followers receiving his opinions and retweets on their Twitter feeds. He now lives in South Africa but publishes newspapers in both South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Reginald Mengi. Photo: reginald-mengi.com
Media mogul from Tanzania, Reginald Mengi. Photo: reginald-mengi.com

Reginald Mengi – @regmengi

Mengi is the founder of IPP Group, Tanzania’s largest media conglomerate. While most of his tweets are in Swahili, he is one of the African business leaders who generates a great deal of buzz through his 820,000 followers on Twitter.