Geographies in Depth
Doing business in Africa? Four things you should know about, from one of the region’s most successful entrepreneurs
“2017 will be the year the continent bounces back,” says African entrepreneur Mohammed Dewji.
Mohammed Dewji is a businessman, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and former politician. He serves as the President of MeTL Group, a Tanzanian conglomerate founded by his father in the 1970s. Mohammed is single-handedly responsible for increasing MeTL’s revenues from $30 million to over 2 billion between 1999 and 2022. Currently, MeTL group has investments in textiles, energy, petroleum, agriculture, insurance, mobile telephony, transport and logistics, trading, real estate, and food and beverages (FMCG). The group conducts business in 8 countries and employs over 34,800 people. To date, MeTL’s operations contribute ~3.3% of Tanzania’s GDP.
Mohammed served as a Member of Parliament from 2005 – 2015 for his hometown of Singida. In 2022, Forbes listed him as the 15th richest person in Africa, with an estimated net worth of US$1.5 billion. Forbes also described him as the youngest billionaire on the continent for 6 consecutive years. Further, Mohammed was the first Tanzanian billionaire on the cover of Forbes Africa in 2013, and in 2015 was named Forbes Person of the Year. In 2021, Mohammed was again featured on the cover of Forbes Africa for its 10-year anniversary issue. That same year, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Mohammed to serve on the investment advisory council for the Republic of South Africa, a position Mohammed still holds.
Beyond business, Mohammed has demonstrated an exemplary record of contributing to the well-being of Tanzania and beyond via the Mo Dewji Foundation, which he established in 2014. The foundation covers education, health, community development, water accessibility and gender empowerment.
In 2022, Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business awarded Mohammed an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters for distinguished leadership in business and philanthropy. He also delivered the 2022 McDonough Graduation Commencement Address.
In 2016, Mohammed joined the Giving Pledge – an initiative started by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. This pledge aims to address society's most pressing problems by inviting the world's wealthiest to commit over half of their wealth to philanthropy. Mohammed is the first Tanzanian and one of few Africans to have made the pledge.
Mohammed is also an investor in football, with a 49% stake in Simba Sports Club, the largest sports club in Tanzania. Since his USD$ 20 million investment 4 years ago, the club has made it to the quarterfinals of the African Champions league, and is now ranked one of the top 20 clubs in the continent.
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