African women have been making headlines this year, with South Africa's Home Affairs Minister Nkosazama Dhlamini-Zuma lobbying for the post of African Union chief, Joyce Banda being sworn in as Malawi president and now Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala nominated for the top job at the World Bank.

While Okonjo-Iweala lost out eventually to Korean-American health expert and educator Jim Yong Kim, the process did prove to be the first-ever challenge to the U.S. stranglehold on the World Bank's presidency.

Current World Bank President Robert Zoellick announced he would be stepping down in June, leaving the way open for Nigeria's Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, who was nominated by Angola, Nigeria, South Africa and Brazil. She had campaigned on a ticket of the World Bank needing reorientation under someone from the developing world and had singled out job creation for youth as her priority.

Africa's finance ministers lobbied hard for the respected economist and diplomat, and while South Africa pushed for BRICS to collectively back Okonjo-Iweala, Russia favored President Barack Obama's U.S. candidate Jim Yong Kim.

Since 1946, the World Bank has had an American at the helm, ostensibly because the United States is the bank's largest shareholder. The arrangement is part of the "old boys' club" style agreement that traditionally sees the United States pick the World Bank head while the Europeans get to select the International Monetary Fund boss.

But with the World Bank's very existence and massive budget dedicated to help improve the lot of poor and developing countries, many of these bank "customers" have in the past complained that the World Bank does little to assist the development of their economies. It would be far better, say poor nations, to have someone who is part of their world and understands what is required on the ground, to be in charge of the World Bank.

That wasn't meant to be this time round. There is of course much politics involved in this selection. Donor countries to the World Bank, which had a loan portfolio that hit $258 billion in 2011, would no doubt feel far more confident if it was one of their own people with a hand on the tiller and the till.

Okonjo-Iweala had held an ace up her sleeve going into the vote as a former long-term managing director of the World Bank, who knew the lay of the land within the organization and if selected could have hit the ground running.

Leading up to the announcement of the successful candidate, leadership of the top global development institution faced mounting pressure from developing countries of a nepotism style approach to selection.

While Okonjo-Iweala had said she was relying on the open merit-based standards and principles the World Bank and all parties concerned championed, there had been little doubt about the choice of Kim, even if he differs from the mould of American bankers and diplomats usually named to lead the 187-member institution. Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged to media shortly before the result was announced that the winner would be voted "with political weight and shares and therefore the United States will get it."

Despite this setback, as emerging markets and developing countries contribute more to global growth than ever before, the major achievement of Nigeria and Africa in this campaign is putting a merit-based candidate forward from a developing economy. 

The entire process has raised awareness worldwide, making it hard for the United States to retain the position next time round using power politics.

"It will never ever be the same again," Okonjo-Iweala said.

"So we have won a big victory."

The Editor