by Akan Ido

Y!/YNaija.com, the leading network of media brands for an evolving generation of Africans, has announced the inaugural edition of the Y!/YNaija.com Most Influential People, Ideas & Movements – ­ the #Y100.
“It was inevitable, Y! has spent the past three years driving and leading the conversation amongst young Africans on the things that move and shape our society,” said Adebola Williams, who is Managing Editor. “This is clearly inspired by the TIME tradition ­ and we are excited to be able to identify, spotlight, and therefore sustain the most positively influential minds in our communities.”

Inspired by the iconic TIME list, the list will be broken into five categories:

– Leaders & Change makers
– Builders & Titans
– Artists & Entertainers
– Innovators & Thinkers
– Heroes & Icons

“This is not a list of the most popular, or even the most powerful people around, important as those might also be,” said Williams. “This is for those who have deeply and substantively transformed the way we think, the way we live, the things we see, the things we do. They might be in communities in Congo or they might be brands touching lives across the continent. We are excited to nominate companies that have transformed sectors, and entertainers that have set new standards. What is important, the influence must be overwhelmingly and provably positive.”

A special Y! team of editors will curate the final list; however nominations are now being accepted by the public to create a richer, more representative list. Nominations will last four weeks and will close on 28 December.

The list will be published on Monday 6 January, 2014. Also to be announced is the date and venue for the exclusive #Y100 Gala ­ an invitation-only event celebrating the honourees.

Send nominations to [email protected] with the full names of the nominee, the contact address, email and phone number, and 10 lines on why the nominee is influential.

For more information, follow @YNaija on Twitter and /YNaija on Facebook ­or the hashtag #Y100.