Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist from Zambia, was recently conferred with one of the most prestigious philanthropy and leadership awards in Africa. This award ceremony was called Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards. As the name suggested, the award ceremony was developed by Forbes which is one of the top business magazines across the globe. The Forbes is famous for its rankings and lists of top businesses, entrepreneurs, leaders, and several other categories that are noted worldwide. In Africa, the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards can be easily considered as the most awaited, respected and regarded corporate and philanthropy awards. The awards are given to visionaries, businessmen and leaders who have made significant contributions in the field of philanthropy and consider this as a means to achieve long-term empowerment of the African nation. One of the reasons for high value and recognition of the awards is the selection process. The selection process comprises of months of verification and background checks, conducted by both Forbes and FIN (Foreign Investment Limited). This is followed by interviews and discussions with the potential awardees to understand their viewpoints and long-term contributions as well as commitment towards philanthropy to achieve overall empowerment. Based on these evaluations as well as overall contributions of the candidates in philanthropy and leadership, the awards are given across different categories.

The 2021 Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ award ceremony was held during the Forbes-FIN philanthropy and leadership roundtable conference. This conference is usually held in New York. However, this year’s conference was held online as a result of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was invited in this pandemic as an honorary speaker and discussed about the significance of leadership in healthcare. In a similar fashion, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was selected by Forbes for one of the ‘Best of Africa’ awards. Forbes recognised the contributions by Dr. Rajan Mahtani towards redefining the banking sector of Zambia and awarded him with the Forbes ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year’ award 2021.