Whether in music, fashion, or business, 2024 has proven to be a fabulous year for Africans globally. From South Africa’s Tyla taking home a Grammy to Nigeria’s Alex Okosi making a significant impact with Google Africa, it’s been a busy and successful year for the African diaspora. Over the past year, we have heard names like Burna Boy, Siya Kolisi, Tems, Trevor Noah, Steven Bartlett, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Julian Lusengo, but there are more amazing people of African descent to celebrate and honour. YourLuxury Africa raises a glass to the outstanding class of 2024.
Art
Gresham Tapiwe Nyaud
The Zimbabwean-born art-prize winner is a National Gallery of Zimbabwe Arts Studio graduate and has showcased work in South Africa, Australia, and the UK. Gresham, who won the 2024 FNB Art Joburg Prize, says he “addresses social justice, freedom of expression and matriarchal and patriarchal systems in African traditions” in his work. His passion for art began as a child as his father was an artist too and both his sisters could draw. The 26-year-old’s current solo show, Immanentize the Eschaton, is currently on at the First Floor Gallery in Harare, before he showcases his new show at the Johannesburg Art Gallery in 2025. Instagram: @gresham_tapiwa_nyaude
Music
Tyla
A Grammy, followed by a scorcher of a performance at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and being invited to the Fondation Louis Vuitton by Pharrell Williams – this has been Tyla’s year. The “pretty girl from Joburg” is a certified megastar thanks to her global smash hit self-titled debut album, which showcased South African musical genre amapiano and features her hit song, Water. She wore a custom dress by Olivier Rousteing for Balmain to the Grammys and also bagged a Moon Man at the MTV Awards, causing a stir on social media – now standard between her fanbase, affectionately called the Tygas, and the rest of the world. While she continues to land significant brand endorsement deals such as GAP and cover features in glossy international magazines, Tyla is fast becoming a fashion icon thanks to haute couture labels such as Balmain and Versace lining up to dress her. Instagram: @tyla
Modelling
Carmen Lee Solomons
South African beauty Carmen has established herself as a beauty muse with her signature freckles, red hair, and green eyes. With over 120 000 Instagram followers, the model was first scouted at a mall and then went on to become a face for Rihanna’s make-up empire, Fenty. She’s also worked with Kylie Cosmetics and L’Oréal and, in 2024, with international beauty cosmetics Patrick Ta. Her growing TikTok account showcases behind-the-scenes content from shoots, her travels, and her daily vlogs from her home base, which is currently Los Angeles, has also garnered quite a following. Instagram: @carmensolomons
Fashion
Duro Olowu
Born in Nigeria, Duro grew up in Geneva before studying law in London. He launched his label in 2004 and the “Duro Dress” was born, selling out at New York’s famed Barneys. He received the coveted New Designer of the Year award at the British Fashion Awards in 2005 without even staging a show. Heavily influenced by his roots, Duro’s collections are often vibrant, colourful, and intentional in fabric selection. He says he designs for “directional yet trend-free” women, and his off-beat designs have caught the eye of Michelle Obama and Solange Knowles. About his 2024 collection, he told Vanity Fair, “I tend to gravitate towards bold, vivid colours, but this collection also features delicate yet powerful pastels and prints that are at once familiar yet novel to the wearer. My understanding of colour has always been instinctive. Each hue is a defining moment in the choice the wearer makes to reflect how they want to place themselves in the world.” Instagram: @duroolowu
Food
Iré Hassan-Odunkale
Hailing from the neighbourhood of Ikoyi in Lagos, Iréspent most of his childhood with his family before moving to England at 16, where he longed for his West African food and culture. Despite following in his family’s footsteps of insurance, he joined forces with his childhood friend Jeremy Chan to launch Ikoyi in London, described “as an odyssey by the two childhood friends into a rich world of produce, taste and flavour.” While the name has confused international guests who believe it is a Japanese establishment, menu highlights include un-traditional smoked jollof rice with lobster custard. Although having only opened in 2017, Ikoyi is now a two-Michelin-starred restaurant and has appeared on the World’s Best 50 Restaurants list in 2024. Instagram: @ikoyi_london
Business
Magatte Wade
A serial entrepreneur, speaker, and the director of the Center for African Prosperity at Atlas Network Senegalese, Magatte is a prosperity activist on a mission to debunk misconceptions about Africa. In September 2024, she accepted the Julian L. Simon Memorial Award for “advancing Simon’s vision of humankind as the ultimate resource”. Born in Senegal and raised in France, Magatte ventured into numerous businesses, including soft drink company Adina World Beat Beverages, Skin Is Skin, a premium assortment of skin & lip therapy products to create jobs in Senegal, and Tiossan, another beauty business. She’s been listed as a Forbes “20 Youngest Power Women in Africa,” a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and a TED Global Africa Fellow. Instagram: @magattew
Media
Alex Okosi
As the managing director of Google Africa, Alex is responsible for Google’s operations in Africa, which includes providing more access to the search engine across the continent. Before his role at Google, Alex was the MD of YouTube EMEA Emerging Markets where he played a key role in landing the company’s $100M Black Voices Fund, even partnering with Idris Elba to launch the annual Africa Day Benefit Concert. Born and raised in Nigeria, Alex now calls South Africa home. His prolific career spans two decades and includes starting his career at ViacommCBS and successfully launching MTV Base and the world-famous MTV African Music Awards, he was instrumental in bringing BET to African audiences. Alex has been recognised numerous times for his work and leadership impact. Instagram: @alexokosi
Sport
Samkelo Cele
It’s been a successful year for the KwaZulu-Natal born-and-bred basketball player, who eceived a basketball scholarship for Durban High School before moving to the United States to play college basketball in Charlotte, North Carolina. Samkelo went on to play at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Southern College, Marist, and the University of Science & Arts OK Drovers. Standing at 194cm tall, the pro basketballer added a summer season at the world-famous New York Knicks in 2024 and debuted for the South African national team. Samkelo has also been named an All-Basketball Africa League first-team player, becoming the first South African to make it. Instagram: @iambuckets
Social Media
Wisdom Kaye
With his immaculate style, social media savviness, and creative genius, Nigerian-America Wisdom (né Uduebor) continues to raise the bar in fashion. Described by Vogue Magazine as “TikTok’s best dressed”, Wisdom’s sleek videos and style challenges like “style yourself as a font” have amassed millions of views. Born in Nigeria, he moved to the United States when he was four years old, and he started showcasing his passion for fashion during the Covid pandemic. In an online interview, the style icon and model said, “I haven’t always had the confidence or willingness to dress how I wanted to. I feel, at least with me, confidence grew over time, and now I’m at a place where I am comfortable and confident with it.” The 193cm tall fashionista made his Met Gala debut in 2024 in a red ensemble designed by Robert Wun, and used this year’s Olympics to showcase different African countries using country colours for fashion. Instagram: @wisdm
Science & Engineering
Stephanie Travers
A few years ago, Stephanie became the first black woman to stand on a Formula 1 podium – and next to Lewis Hamilton. Her career in Formula 1 began in 2019 when she beat more than 7 000 applicants so secure the spot as trackside fluid engineer for the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team. Today, the Zimbabwean-born engineer is the senior development officer at Mission 44 where she is the impact manager contributing to diversity in motorsport. “To be that representation is a surreal feeling,” she says. Instagram: @stephanietravers
