Pretoria - South African business people and companies make up half of the shortlisted entries in four categories and a third of finalists in additional seven categories for the Africa investor Awards 2007.

High flying businesswomen have emerged as a particular strength for South Africa, despite an exceptional number of entries across all 17 awards categories.

Mamphela Ramphele, chair of Circle Capital Partners; Philisiwe Buthelezi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Empowerment Fund and CEO of the Mvela Group Yolanda Cuba all gained places on the Businesswoman of the Year Award shortlist.

South Africa also has a strong presence in the Infrastructure Deal of the Year, Institutional Investor of the Year and Employer of the Year Award categories.

Rand Merchant Bank and Standard Bank were both selected for the Infrastructure Deal of the Year Award for their part in the Gautrain deal, while the Industrial Development Corporation and Public Investment Corporation got places on the Institutional Investor of the Year shortlist.

However, there is stiff competition from other pan-African names such as Coca Cola Africa, Celtel, Citigroup, Barclays Mauritius and Standard Chartered Bank.

There is also a strong showing from Nigeria that includes Zenith Bank, Oceanic Bank, Access Bank, Intercontinental Bank, GT Bank and First Bank.

Now in their fourth successful year, the Africa Investor Awards are seen as the international benchmark for excellence in responsible investing in Africa and attract the continent's best and brightest contestants.

The awards recognise and reward the achievements of the private sector across wide-ranging sectors and disciplines, and attract the market leaders from across the continent.

Previous winners include the Founder of Virgin Atlantic, Sir Richard Branson; Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Standard Bank and Nedbank

The 2007 award winners will be announced 7 November at a ceremony in Lagos. The two-day ceremony, which will kick off on 7 November, will be held alongside the Africa investor Projects Summit. – BuaNews-NNN