Africa’s youngest billionaire to invest $100 million in four Rwandan firms

Tanzanian billionaire Mohammed Dewji, renowned as Tanzania’s wealthiest man and the youngest billionaire on the African continent, has unveiled his ambitious plan to invest a staggering $100 million in four prominent Rwandan companies through his conglomerate, MeTL Group, headquartered in Dar es Salaam.

This announcement came during a recent meeting held in Dar es Salaam, where the 48-year-old billionaire discussed prospective investment opportunities in Rwanda with high-ranking officials, including Ildephonse Musafiri, the minister of agriculture and animal resources, and Nelly Mukazayire, deputy chief executive of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). This indicates the growing interest in Rwanda’s rapidly expanding economy, recognized as one of Africa’s fastest-growing.

According to the meeting’s outcome, MeTL Group intends to channel $100 million into four Rwandan companies specializing in the production of edible oil, soap, wheat and maize milling, carbonated beverages, plastic bottle recycling, agriculture, and fuel storage, among other strategic sectors.

Highlighting the opportunities Rwanda’s economy presents and emphasizing the need for enhanced collaboration, Mohammed Dewji, whose net worth stands at $1.5 billion according to Forbes, expressed his commitment to expanding his conglomerate’s footprint in Rwanda. MeTL Group currently operates in eleven African countries.

Dewji, who was honored with the Industrialist of the Year Award in June, expressed gratitude for the support provided by Rwanda’s institutions, stating: “As a businessman, I’m grateful for the support and facilities Rwanda’s institutions have offered.”

The visionary behind the MeTL Group, a Tanzanian conglomerate encompassing over 150 diverse products, including flour, beverages, carpets, edible oils, and matchsticks, has transformed his youthful entrepreneurial spirit into a multi-billion-dollar empire spanning several African nations, including Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique.

In an interview earlier this year with CNN’s Connecting Africa anchor Eleni Giokos, Dewji, not only Tanzania’s wealthiest but East Africa’s richest man, revealed that many beverages and consumer goods produced by MeTL Group’s units are poised to compete with global giants such as Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, Pepsi, and Coca-Cola.

Dewji pointed to the extraordinary success of their top-selling product, Mo Extra, a carbonated soft drink that sold over a billion bottles in 2022.

The ambitious billionaire confidently declared his intention to challenge major beverage companies and solidify his dominance in the industry, stating: “I am setting up factories everywhere where Pepsi and Coca-Cola are, and I am hoping that the 1 billion bottles can reach 3 to 4 billion bottles in the next 24 to 36 months.”