For its 15th anniversary, Forbes Africa has unveiled its first Icons list, a group of 15 individuals the magazine says have shaped Africa’s past, present, and future. The list is presented in no particular order and mostly leans toward business, politics, sport, and entertainment. Among the 15 is one literary name: Abdulrazak Gurnah, the Zanzibar-born novelist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, whom Forbes profiles as “Novelist; Nobel Laureate in Literature.” The profile centers on his thoughts on the patience the writing life requires.

Gurnah is the only literary writer on the list, but he is not the only author. Looking across all 15 icons, eight have published books under their own names:

  • Abdulrazak Gurnah, the Nobel-winning novelist, whose fiction includes Paradise and Afterlives.
  • Trevor Noah, comedian and former host of The Daily Show, author of the memoir Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood.
  • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, author of Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria and Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines.
  • Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia, author of the memoir This Child Will Be Great.
  • Lupita Nyong’o, the Kenyan-Mexican actor, author of the children’s picture book Sulwe.
  • Angélique Kidjo, the Beninese musician, author of the memoir Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music.
  • Didier Drogba, the former Ivorian footballer, author of Commitment: My Autobiography.
  • Adrian Gore, founder and CEO of Discovery Group, author of The Four Principles: Multiply Your Impact in Life and Leadership, published by Pan Macmillan in August 2026.

The 15 icons come from every corner of public life, and Nigeria and South Africa each account for four of them. Five are business titans: Discovery’s Adrian Gore, CAF president and billionaire Patrice Motsepe, Econet Global and Cassava Technologies chairman Strive Masiyiwa, Dangote Group president Aliko Dangote, and Richemont chairman Johann Rupert. Five work in media, music, and film: EbonyLife founder Mo Abudu, Burna Boy, Lupita Nyong’o, Trevor Noah, and Angélique Kidjo, a five-time Grammy winner. Two are public leaders: Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman to lead the World Trade Organization, and Sirleaf, the first elected female head of state in Africa. Two are sports legends: Haile Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic champion who has also built a business career, and Didier Drogba, Côte d’Ivoire’s all-time top scorer. Gurnah stands alone as the list’s literary figure. Two of the icons are Nobel laureates: Sirleaf, who won the Peace Prize in 2011, and Gurnah, who won the Literature Prize in 2021.

According to Forbes Africa, the icons were chosen through a holistic assessment of each person’s capabilities, global recognition, legacy, and measurable economic, social, or cultural influence, drawing on people previously featured on its covers and lists or who have taken part in its events. Read next to the authors above, the list suggests how often a public legacy on the continent now includes a book, whether a memoir, a policy account, a children’s story, or a leadership guide. Forbes’ own profile headers flag only Gurnah, Gore, and Noah as writers, but eight of the 15 have a book to their name.

You can read Forbes Africa’s full list of Icons here.