A self-made Sudanese multi-millionaire will today announce an ambitious project to foster good governance in Africa by offering a huge cash prize to entice leaders tempted to cling to power to leave office.

Mo Ibrahim, who last year sold Cel Tel, his pan-African telecommunications company, to MTC of Kuwait for $3.4bn, will use a high profile event at a London hotel tonight to launch what he hopes will be a race between African heads of state to claim the $5m annual award by delivering security, health, education and economic development to their people.