Interesting people from Africa

Ugandan Andrew Rugasira is the CEO and founder of Rwenzori Coffee Company.

Within a few years of starting up his company, Rwenzori Coffee Company was selling to the biggest supermarket chains in Africa and Britain - the first contract ever for an African coffee producer to supply direct to a British supermarket. The company generated sales of $1.7 million. .

But what makes Rugasira different is the way he does business. He pays his growers up to twice the average market price for their coffee. He shares his company’s profits on an equal basis with his farmers and their communities, he provides training in the best practices and promotes the well being of the community by supporting its orphanages, health care and education projects.

Kofi Annan was up until recently the 7th Secretary General of the United Nations (Jan 2002 - Dec 2006). He was the first black African sec gen. He is known and respected for for having implemented wide spread reform within the UN.

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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (born 1954) is the former Finance Minister and later, Foreign Minister of Nigeria. the first woman to hold either of these positions. She served as finance minister from July 2003 until her appointment as foreign minister in June 2006. At the time, she was one of only three female finance ministers in the world. She was instrumental in negotiating the closing of Nigeria’s debt to the Paris Club (see country achievements). Okonjo-Iweala is a former World Bank vice president who graduated from Harvard and earned a Ph.D. in regional economics and development at MIT. The Guardian Newspaper in the UK said of her: "Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a heroine not just of Nigeria, but of the entire continent”.

Steve Bantu Biko (December 1946 – September 1977) was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and early 1970s. He espoused, inspired, and promoted black pride. A student leader, he founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. One of the greatest legacies of the struggle that Biko waged - and for which he died - was the explosion of pride among the victims of apartheid. The value that black consciousness placed on culture reverberated across the country.

Haile Selassie (1892 – 1975). Selassie's progressive politics and attempts to modernize Ethiopia through technological advances and membership in the world community. He took steps to improve legislation, bureaucracy, government schooling, and health and social services in preparation for his new reign. the slave trade was abolished and Ethiopia . Much of Selassie's loyalty was fostered by the building of schools, universities, and newspapers, as well as increased availability of electricity, telephone, and public health services. The Bank of Ethiopia was also founded in 1931 and introduced Ethiopian currency. His early legacy was to create Ethiopian pride and sovereignty. Source: http://history.acusd.edu

Julius Kambarage Nyerere (1922 - 1999) was President of Tanzania, and previously Tanganyika, from the country's founding in 1964 until his retirement in 1985. Nyerere was at the forefront of the Pan-African movement that swept the continent in the 1960's. He was also one of the founders of the Organization of African Unity in 1963. During his time in power, Nyerere a socialist, famously implemented an economic programme where he introduced a policy of collectivisation in the country's agricultural system, known as Ujamaa or "familyhood".

Seretse Khama (1921-80), founding President of Botswana, 1966-80. Under his leadership, Botswana succeeded in establishing itself as both prosperous and peaceful. Between 1966 and 1980 Botswana had the fastest growing economy in the world. It also came to be seen a remarkable state with high principles, upholding liberal democracy and non-racialism in the midst of a region embroiled in civil war, racial enmity and corruption.

'Kwame Nkrumah (1909 - 1972) was the motivating force behind the movement for independence of Ghana, then British West Africa, and its first president when it became independent in 1957. A firm believer in African liberation, Nkrumah pursued a radical pan-African policy, playing a key role in the formation of the Organization of African Unity in 1963. His dream was for a "United States of Africa". Source http://www.africawithin.com