African billionaire Mohammed Dewji
Mohammed "Mo" Gulamabbas Dewji is a Tanzanian billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and former politician. He is the owner and CEO of MeTL Group (Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited), one of East Africa's largest conglomerates.
- Business: He took over his family's commodities trading house and expanded it into the MeTL Group, which has interests in manufacturing, textiles, agriculture, energy, and more. He grew the company's revenue from $30 million to over $2 billion.
- Philanthropy: Dewji is a prominent philanthropist through his Mo Dewji Foundation, which supports initiatives in education, health, and water access. In 2016, he became the first Tanzanian to sign the Giving Pledge, committing to donate at least half of his fortune to charity.
- Politics: He served as a Member of the Tanzanian Parliament for his hometown of Singida from 2005 to 2015 before retiring from politics to focus on his company and foundation.
- Kidnapping: In 2018, Dewji was kidnapped in Dar es Salaam but was released safely ten days later. No ransom was paid.
- Other investments: Dewji is also an investor in football and holds a stake in the Tanzanian club Simba Sports Club.
- Recognition: He has been featured on the cover of Forbes magazine and has been consistently listed among Africa's richest people. He was the first Tanzanian billionaire to be on the cover of Forbes.
Born: 8 May 1975
Birth Place: Singida, Tanzania
Net-worth: US$ 1.8 Billion (Forbes, 2024)Mohammed Dewji is a businessman, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and former politician.
EDUCATION:
• Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA – Bachelor of Science (1994 – 1998)
• Major – Finance and International Business | Minor – TheologyMOHAMMED ENTERPRISES TANZANIA LTD (METL GROUP):
• Currently President of MeTL Group
• Increased MeTL’s revenues from $30 million to over 2 billion between 1999 and 2022.
• Has investments in textiles, energy, petroleum, agriculture, insurance, mobile telephony, transport and logistics, trading, real estate, and food and beverages (FMCG).
• The group conducts business in 8 countries and employs over 34,000.
• MeTL’s operations contribute 3.3% of Tanzania’s GDP.
• Operates regionally in Uganda, Mozambique, Kenya, MalawiPOLITICS:
• Mohammed served as a Member of Parliament from 2005 – 2015 for his hometown of Singida.SELECT ACHIEVEMENTS:
• Appointed member of Prince's International Trust Africa Advisory Board in 2023
• Awarded “Industrialist of The Year” by All Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLA) in 2023
• Awarded Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters by Georgetown University, Washington D.C, USA, in 2022
• Appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on Investment (PACI) in 2019, by HE Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa
• Global Peace Foundation – Advisory Board Member, from 2016
• Named Africa’s youngest billionaire by Forbes 2015 to date
• Recipient of the Forbes Africa Person of the Year Award in South Africa in 2015
• Recipient of the AABLA (CNBC) Philanthropist of the Year for the East Africa Region in 2015
• World Economic Forum – Young Global Leader, 2012PHILANTHROPY:
• Founder of Mo Dewji Foundation (MDF) - established in 2014, serves the community in areas of education through the Mo Scholars program, health, community development, clean water accessibility and gender empowerment.
• Increased the number of secondary schools in Singida from 2 to 17
• Joined the Giving Pledge in 2016 - an initiative started by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. Giving Pledge aims to address society's most pressing problems by inviting the world's wealthiest to commit over half of their wealth to philanthropy.SPORTS:
• Owns a 49% stake in Simba Sports Club (SSC) , the largest and most popular sports club in Tanzania
• Invested US$ 20 million in 2019 propelling the club to make it to the quarterfinals of the African Champions league.
• SSC Is now one of the top 10 clubs in Africasalisuumarmanta@gmail.com
