STATISTICS
AGE 41
RESIDENCE Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
CITIZENSHIP Tanzanian
MARITAL STATUS Married with 3 Children
EDUCATION International School of Tanganyika, Dar es Salaam, Arnold Palmer Golf Academy in Orlando, Trinity Preparatory School, Saddle Brook High School in New Jersey and Georgetown University at Washington DC.
Mohammed ‘Mo’ Gulamabbas Dewji is a famous Tanzanian billionaire with the estimated net worth of US $1.9 billion. He is the owner of METL Group a Tanzania conglomerate which was founded by his Father in the 1970s. The 44years old is the continents youngest billionaire and the 17th richest person in Africa. Mohammed was born in in the year 1975, 8 May in Ipembe Singida.
The Tanzanian billionaire almost lost his life at birth from having a condition called nuchal chord. He was given birth to in a mud house through the assistant and help of a neighbouring midwife. Another near-death experience for Mo was in October 2018 when he was kidnapped at gunpoint for nine days in Dar es Salaam Tanzania.
Mohammed came from a family of 8 including his parents Gulamabbas and Zubeda Dewji.
Quick Fact: In 2013, Deji became the first Tanzanian to cover Forbes Magazine and has been featured 3 other times on Forbes.
Dewji started his early education at the Arusha Primary school and had his secondary school education at the International School of Tanganyika in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He also attended the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy in Orlando, Trinity Preparatory School and Saddle Brook High School in New Jersey before he got his college degree in international business and finance and a minor in theology in the year 1998 at Georgetown University at Washington DC.
Mohammed started off to work at METL Group upon the completion of his college education and after two years became the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the company. In the space of 19years (1999-2018) Dewji increased the METL’s revenues from $30 million to over $1.5 billion. MeTL’s operations contribute ~3.5% of Tanzania’s GDP. Currently, the company runs a business in 11 countries with 28,000 employees and still work to get over 100,000 employees before 2021.
Dewji was involved in politics before he resigned in October 2015. At the age of 25, Dewji contested for the Member of Parliament of Singida Urban in the year 2000 when Tanzania held it’s second multiparty elections. Although Dewji emerged the winner of the election, he eventually had to step down because he was considered young. In 2005 however, he was sworn in as an MP for Singida Urban constituency with 90% votes.
Mohammed established Dewji foundation in 2014 and he focused on charitable activities which cut across education, health and community development projects in Tanzania. In 2006, the only Tanzania billionaire pledged to give half his fortune to philanthropic causes.
