The Ibrahim Prize was awarded in 2007, 2008, and 2011 to Presidents Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, Festus Mogae of Botswana, and Pedro Verona Pires of Cape Verde, respectively. Botswana and Cape Verde are two of the small-population countries that are consistently placed near the top in rankings of African governance, human development, and economic performance.
莫·易卜拉欣奖曾分别颁发给莫桑比克前总统阿金·希萨诺（Joaquim Chissano，2007年度），博茨瓦纳前总统费斯图斯·莫哈埃（Festus Mogae，2008年度）以及佛得角前总统佩德罗·皮雷斯（Pedro Verona Pires，2011年度）。博茨瓦纳和佛得角这两个人口较少的非洲国家一般都会在非洲治理水平，人文发展和经济表现方面排名前列。