ABOUT
The African Awards were founded in 2014 to celebrate what too often goes uncelebrated: the enterprise, the artistry, the science, and the service that define our community. In 2026 we relaunched as a digital programme so that recognition could reach every African — on the continent and across the diaspora — without the cost and logistics of a single physical gathering.
We are an editorial recognition programme, not a ticketed event and not a pay-to-win scheme. A place on The 100 cannot be bought. It is earned through achievement and awarded through editorial selection.
HOW SELECTION WORKS
Every year we open two routes: free public nomination and paid self-application. Both feed into the same editorial review. Our team compiles a long list per category, scores each submission against published criteria, and selects the final one hundred across ten fields.
Scores and reasoning are documented and applied consistently, and every paid applicant receives written feedback regardless of the outcome.
The fee paid by self-applicants covers editorial time and written assessment. It does not, and cannot, influence selection.
THE EDITORIAL TEAM
The African Awards list is compiled by an editorial team drawn from journalism, academia, and industry, with contributors across multiple African countries and the diaspora. Reviewers are assigned by category according to their area of knowledge.
Our team operates independently of applicants and sponsors. No sponsor, member, or applicant has any influence over who is selected, and selection is never contingent on any payment.
As the programme grows we will introduce named editorial contributors and category advisors. We would rather describe our team honestly than list names we cannot yet stand behind.
Read the criteria every submission is measured against.
View Selection Criteria