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With a staggering net worth of $1.5 billion, Mohammed Dewji, the CEO of Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania (MeTL) Group, stands tall as the richest man in Tanzania and one of Africa’s most prominent billionaires.
His prominence in the African business arena is further accentuated by his position as the head of MeTL Group, one of East Africa’s largest industrial conglomerates. The majority of his $1.5-billion fortune is attributed to his stake in the group.
METL Group, a highly successful conglomerate established by its founder’s father in the 1970s, has an impressive reach across a wide range of industries, including trading, agriculture, manufacturing, energy and petroleum, financial services, mobile telephony, infrastructure, real estate, transport, logistics, and distribution.
The highly diversified company has established itself as Tanzania’s largest domestically-grown corporation, with a presence in 11 African nations, including Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania.
Beyond his business ventures, Mohammed Dewji also showcases his philanthropic spirit through his role as the founder and financier of the Mo Dewji Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to providing scholarships for underprivileged children in Tanzania.
With a view to tackling the growing food security challenges faced by Sub-Saharan Africa, Mohammed Dewji announced his intentions to go public with an agriculture company in either New York or London in 2023.
He declared that the ambitious $4-billion initiative will receive robust support from top-notch development banks and will be executed via a blank check agreement, delivering a much-anticipated uplift to the agriculture industry.
The proposed investment comes at a pivotal time in the world, as food prices continue to soar due to disruptions in the global supply chain network. This has resulted in a significant hike in the cost of staple commodities, including grains, edible oils, and fertilizers.
Dewji added that the $4-billion blank check arrangement, which will result in the launch of an agricultural venture, is a fantastic way to bring food security to Africa’s heels because it will capitalize on the continent’s potential to feed itself and the world.
He explained that the agricultural company, which may diversify into soybean and sugar plantations, could provide investors with a five- to ten-fold return over a decade, but it would necessitate “patient, impactful, long-term capital.”
