Mohammed Dewji from Tanzania is the richest man in East Africa and the youngest African billionaire. The 41-year-old is said to be worth $1.4 billion.
Mo Dweji, as he is popularly known, has managed to put his country on the map where Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt and Morocco represent the continent in a global list dominated by the United States of America.
Personal life – wife, family
Mo was born on May 8, 1975 in Ipembe, Singida, Tanzania. He was the second of five children born to Gulamabbas Dewji and Zubeda Dewji, a Shia Muslim family.
He attended Georgetown University in Washington DC, graduating in 1998 with a BA in International Business and Finance and a minor in Theology. Shortly after graduating, he returned to Tanzania to join the family business.
In 2001, Dewji Saira married and was blessed with three children. They live in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
company
Mohammed Dewji is the CEO of METL, a Tanzanian conglomerate founded by his father in the 1970s. It is engaged in textile manufacturing, flour milling, beverages and edible oils in East, South and Central Africa.
The companies, valued at over $1 billion, were built from $26 million in sales over 18 years (1999-2017).
He is Tanzania’s only billionaire with operations in at least six African countries. He has expressed interest in expanding the business to several more countries.
The young entrepreneur said his next goal is not only to expand his business to more countries, but also to increase the companies’ revenue base to US$5 billion by 2020 and to employ 100,000 people across Africa.
politics and philanthropy
Mohammed Dewji is not just a savvy businessman as he is perceived. He is a well-known philanthropist and former politician.
He was a member of the Tanzanian Parliament for 10 years, after which he retired from politics in October 2015.
In 2014 he founded the Mo Dewji Foundation, which provides scholarships for poor Tanzanian children to improve access to basic needs such as water and health projects and agribusiness projects.
Mo Dewji has played an active role in his foundation, encouraging others about the importance of philanthropy.
In addition to its founding, Dewji joined the Giving Pledge, an initiative that is helping to address society’s most pressing issues by urging the world’s wealthiest people and families to pledge to give more than half of their wealth during their lifetime or in to dedicate her will to philanthropy.
Dewji is the first Tanzanian and one of three Africans to join this group of over 150 billionaires, including Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg, Strive Masiyiwa and Patrice Motsepe.
Mohammed Dewji’s Awards and Recognitions
Known worldwide for his excellence, Mohammed Dewji has received numerous awards including:
- 2012 – World Economic Forum Young Global Leader Award
- 2014 – 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa by Forbes Magazine
- 2014 – Awarded African Philanthropist of the Year by African Leadership Magazine
- 2014 – Top 100 Young Business Leaders
- 2015 – Won the Alhulbayt TV Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Community.
- 2015 – Awarded Philanthropist of the Year for East Africa Region by All Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLA)
- 2015 – Business Leader of the Year Award from African Business Magazine.
- 2015 – Forbes African Person of the Year 2015
- 2016 – Choiseul 100 Africa 2016: Business leaders for tomorrow
- 2017 – Awarded 2017 African CEO of the Year at the 2017 African CEOs Forum.
Dewji once said people in Tanzania look at his prosperity and think that he has to sunbathe and play golf all day but that he works really hard and puts in hundreds of hours just to get where he is today.
This is only for those out there who believe that success falls from a tree and for those who believe that you don’t have to worry because you’ve become a billionaire.
Now you must take care of maintaining your wealth while helping others to thrive and make an impact in the world. If he can be a billionaire by the age of 42, so can you, with hard work and determination.