5 multimillionaires from Djibouti you’ve never heard of

Feyisayo Ajayi -

Meet five ultra-wealthy Djiboutian entrepreneurs who are individually worth $30 million or more. Each person has founded, owns and runs businesses with proven annual revenues of eight figures or more. Their names don’t ring a bell with the African public, and you’ve probably never heard about them before, but you should probably know them.

Abdirahman Boreh

Source of wealth: Port Services, Tobacco

Abdulrahman Boreh, formerly a close confidant of Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, is one of the country’s richest men ­– even though he is presently living in exile. Boreh initially made his fortune by being a major Horn of Africa regional representative for the British American Tobacco company in the late 1980s and 1990s. He went on to build Soprim Construction S.A.R.L, which handled major Infrastructure construction and civil engineering jobs for the Djibouti government. In 2000, Boreh was the single largest private investor and chief architect in the development and construction of a new port and free zone complex in Doraleh, Djibouti. He has since divested from the investment after falling out with the Djibouti president.

Ahmed Osman Guelleh

Source of wealth: Conglomerate

Guelleh is the founder of GSK Group, a Djibouti conglomerate with interests in construction, shipping, agriculture and manufacturing. The crown jewel in GSK Group is Somaliland Beverage Industries (SBI). In 2010, SBI was awarded a license to build and operate a Coca-Cola bottling factory in Somaliland. SBI is the first-ever Somaliland and Puntland region bottler for Coca-Cola, and is the country’s single largest investment to date.

Abdoulkarim Al Gamil

Source of wealth: Construction

Abdoulkarim Al Gamil, one of Djibouti’s richest men, founded Al Gamil Group in 1983 and built it into one of the largest trade and construction groups in the country. Al-Gamil Group has an annual revenue of more than $120 million and tentacles in construction, supermarkets, and hardware and furniture stores.

Mohamed Said Guedi

Source of wealth: Conglomerate

Mohamed Said Guedi founded MSG Trading ETS in 1981 as an import and export business trading in food items and general merchandise. Over the years, he has grown the business into the MSG Group – a holding company with businesses in tobacco product manufacturing, telecom, oil and gas exploration, energy distribution, shipping and transit, logistics management, and construction. The company has annual revenues of more than $150 million and employs over 1,000 people in Djibouti.

Houssein Mahamoud Robleh

Source of wealth: Conglomerate

Houssein Mahamoud Robleh sits at the helm of Groupe Kamaj, the Djibouti conglomerate that he founded in 1995. Now one of the country’s largest employers, its operations span real estate, distribution, security and tourism. He also owns the famous Les Acacias hotel in Ponite du Heron, Djibouti.