Forbes is one of the top business magazines across the globe. Recently Forbes completed its annual ‘Best of Africa’ awards ceremony in which noted Zambian businessman Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was a big winner. The Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards was a part of the Forbes-FIN (Foreign Investment Network) philanthropy and leadership roundtable conference. It is an annual philanthropy conference that is held in New York, discussing the role of philanthropy in achieving long-term and significant empowerment across Africa. This year’s event, however, was held virtually because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The members participated in this roundtable conference from their respective locations. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was also invited to this event as an honorary speaker.
The addition of the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards further increased the popularity, anticipation, and eagerness around the roundtable conference. The awards hold special significance as the recipients are recognized at an international level. The Forbes awards have given recognition across the globe which opens several avenues for these visionaries and their ventures. Furthermore, the process of selecting the award recipients is extremely tenacious yet transparent. This process involves months of the verification process and background checks by both the Forbes management committee and the Foreign Investment Network. This is followed by discussions and interviews with the potential recipients to understand their views on philanthropy to achieve the long-term empowerment of Africa and its people. The interviews also focus on understanding the current and future investments and planning among these entrepreneurs and visionaries regarding philanthropy. Based on these evaluation criteria, the final recipients are selected for the awards. The awards are given under several different categories.
Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was recognized by Forbes for his business as well as philanthropic contributions. He was conferred with the Forbes ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year’ award for redefining the banking sector of Zambia. He is also known for his philanthropic contributions including Prison Fellowship Zambia and Stephen Malama award for top law graduates in Zambia.