Mohammed “Mo” Gulamabbas Dewji (born 8 May 1975) is a Tanzanian businessman,philanthropist, and former politician. He is the president and CEO of MeTL Group, a Tanzanian conglomerate founded by his father in the 1970s. Dewji served as Member of Parliament from 2005 – 2015 for his home town of Singida. In March 2015 Forbes magazine named him as the 21st richest person in Africa, with his net worth an estimated US $1.1 billion, having also been the first billionaire in Tanzanian Forbes Magazine in 2013.
Early life and education
Dewji was born on 8 May 1975 in Ipembe, Singida. He is the second of five children of Gulamabbas Dewji and Zubeda Dewji. Dewji received his primary education in Arusha at the Arusha Primary School and continued his secondary education at the International School of Tanganyika (IST) in Dar es Salam, Tanzania.
In 1992 when his father enrolled him at the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy in Orlando, Florida, where Dewji also attended Trinity Preparatory School for 11th Grade. Dewji then moved for his last and final year of high school to the Saddle Brooke High School in New Jersey.
Dewji attended Georgetown University in Washington D.C, graduating in 1998 with a Bachelors in International Business and Finance and a minor in Theology. Shortly after graduation he returned to Tanzania and joined the family business.
Business
Upon graduation from university, Dewji returned home and assumed the management of Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited (METL), a commodities trading business founded by his father. After two years of working with company, he became Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at MeTL. In the early 2000s, when the Tanzanian government privatized loss-making companies, he acquired them inexpensively and turned them into profit centers by trimming personnel expenses. MeTL Group of Companies is the largest privately owned conglomerate in Tanzania.
Dewji is responsible for increasing MeTL’s revenues from $30 million to over $1.3 billion between 1999 and 2014.[citation needed] Currently, the MeTL Group has investments in manufacturing, agriculture, trading, finance, mobile telephony, insurance, real estate, transport and logistics, and food and beverages. The group is conducting business in 11 countries and employs over 28,000 people with the aim to target over 100,000 people by 2021. MeTL’s operations contribute ~3.5% of Tanzania’s GDP.
According to Forbes, Dewji has an estimated net worth of US$1.1 billion (2016). He is the 21st richest person in Africa and Africa’s youngest billionaire (2016). He is the first Tanzanian on the cover of Forbes Magazine in 2013 and has been featured on three separate occasions. In November 2015, Dewji was recognized as the Forbers African Person of the year In his acceptance speech, he dedicated the award to the youth of Tanzania.
Summary
| Mohammed Dewji | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Singida Urban |
|
| In office December 2005 – 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Jumanne Nguli |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 May 1975 Ipembe, Singida, Tanzania |
| Nationality | Tanzanian |
| Political party | CCM |
| Spouse(s) | Saira Dewji (m. 2001) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents | Gulamabbas Dewji |
| Residence | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
| Alma mater | Georgetown University (’98) |
| Occupation | President & CEO of MeTL Group
Founder Mo Dewji Foundation |
| Net worth | $1.1 billion (July 2015) |
| Religion | Islam |
Source:wikipedia