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Former Tanzanian politician turned into successful business mogul Mohammed Gulamabbas Dewji is worth an estimated $2.5 billion. His father started the Tanzanian multinational MeTL Group in the 1970s and now owns it. Until 2015, Dewji represented his hometown of Singida in the Tanzanian Parliament as a Chama Cha Mapinduzi lawmaker. He may not be the youngest billionaire in the world but being dubbed Africa's youngest billionaire isn't an easy fit. From running his father's business to his kidnapping, here's inside the life of Mohammed Dewji.
Prosperous Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited Group
Wherever you go in Tanzania, you will undoubtedly encounter a product or service associated with one of Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited( MeTL) Group's brands. The scope of its influence is enormous. You might use Fluordent toothpaste, Mo soap, Poa or Taifa laundry detergent, water from Maisha wells, sugar from KK, or tea from its plantations to clean your teeth and satisfy your thirst. Breakfast pancakes or chapatti baked with Safi Wheat Flour and Safi Cooking Oil, and a khanga (a large, colorful, printed cotton garment wrapped around the torso) to wear on your next adventure.
The MeTL Group is a family-owned business which is led by Mo Dewji, who also serves as the company's CEO and largest shareholder. The MeTL Group is involved in various industries, including manufacturing, agriculture, haulage, storage distribution, trading, and real estate. Over $1.5 billion in annual revenue and more than 20,000 employees make it one of the major industrial enterprises in east Africa. MeTL Group, which currently accounts for 3.5% of Tanzania's GDP, is rapidly expanding outside the borders of its own country, with operations in 11 sub-Saharan African countries and Dubai.
Success Of A-One Products & Bottlers And Dewji's Worldwide Recognition
The group's beverage division, A-One Products & Bottlers, has seen similar levels of success as the textile and edible oil divisions. In the early 2000s, Dewji founded A-One by acquiring several bottling firms held by the government. For the plant's turnaround, he forked over $48 million. The company can make and fill up to 24,000 bottles of beverage each hour at the new A-One bottling plant. More than $60 million of MeTL's annual revenue comes from the plant, which operates around the clock, seven days a week. He makes the trendy energy drink Bomba, which is sometimes compared to Red Bull, and the subsidiary manufactures its cola and orange drinks to compete with the Coca Colas of the world.
Forbes magazine featured businessman, philanthropist, and politician Mohammed Dewji on its cover in 2013. He was the first Tanzanian to do so. Aspiring to the lofty heights of the magazine's cover story is like winning the lottery. The magazine is famous for its rankings and lists, such as its annual Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans, its annual Forbes Wealthiest Americans list of celebrities, its annual Forbes Global 2000 list of the top 2000 companies in the world, its annual Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People, and its annual Forbes list of the World's Billionaires.
Luxury Estates And Other Investments
It has been reported that Mohammed Dewji owns many estates in Dar es Salaam, which was formerly a fishing village but has grown into a major city and commercial port on Tanzania's Indian Ocean coast. However, in this same city in 2018, he was kidnapped by armed men and held captive for nine days in front of a luxurious hotel. It was stated that the millionaire was in good health but that the handcuffs had given him bruises on his hands and legs.
Mohammed Gulamabbas Dewji is among the wealthiest man in the world and is the wealthiest man in Tanzania, paid $8.6 million to Simba Sports Club (Simba SC) in 2021 in exchange for a 49% ownership stake. Dewji rounded up the stock price from $8.4 million to a more manageable $10 million. Along with its cross-city rivals Young Africans, Simba SC is one of Tanzania's two most prominent clubs and a regional powerhouse in the sport of football. Dewji chairs the board of directors and is a significant investor in the football team in Tanzania. The tycoon reportedly stated that he has already invested $91.86 million on Simba's behalf. All the money went toward club operations, including player salary, scouting, and player contracts. He also donated $870,000 in the fall of that year, supposedly to help fund the building of the Simba Sports Club's stadium.
Riding In Style With A Tesla M3
Mohammad Dewji owns a Tesla M3 retailing for about $41,000 in 2018. It can reach speeds of up to 190 km/h and boasts a plush interior and appearance. The Tesla Model 3 is an all-electric, midsize luxury automobile produced and sold by Tesla, Inc. After undergoing rigorous crash testing. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave it a perfect score of five stars. Tesla claims that the Standard Model 3 can travel 220 miles (354 km) on electricity alone, while the Long Range model can travel 310 miles (500 km) (499 km).
Within a week of the 2016 introduction of the Tesla Model 3, the firm announced that it had received 325,000 reservations for the car, indicating possible sales of over $14 billion, as reported by Bloomberg News. A report by InsideEVs estimates that 114,532 Model 3s had been delivered by the end of November 2018, making it the best-selling plug-in car in the United States for the entire year.
Sources: Ventures Africa, Reuters, CNN