Mohammed Dewji, 48, is the CEO of METL, a Tanzanian conglomerate founded by his father in the 1970s.

The Tanzanian billionaire on Wednesday, September 6, expressed interest in investing in Rwanda. That was during his meeting, in Dar es Salaam, with Ildephonse Musafiri, the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, and Rwanda Development Board (RDB) deputy chief executive Nelly Mukazayire.

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Their discussions focused on collaboration and ways of speeding up his MeTL Group’s investments, the ministry said in a post on X.

The Group which has already secured land in Rwanda expressed interest in investing around $100 million (more than Rwf120 billion) in four Rwandan companies that produce edible oil, soap, wheat and maize milling, carbonated drinks, plastic bottle recycling, agriculture, and fuel storage, among other strategic sectors.

But who is Mohammed Dewji?

In January, reports indicated that the Tanzanian tycoon, better known as Mo Dewji, had climbed the list of wealthiest people in Africa from the previous 15th slot to the 13th position, according to Forbes Magazine.

The Tanzanian philanthropist, businessman, entrepreneur, and former politician, who, in 2016, signed the Giving Pledge, a multi-generational, global initiative created by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates that encourages billionaires to give the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes, had maintained his wealth at the tune of $1.5 billion. The president of MeTL, a Tanzanian conglomerate founded by his father, Gulamabbas Dewji, in the 1970s, was ranked 15 in the previous Forbes list of Africa’s dollar billionaires.

He became the youngest dollar billionaire on the continent at the age of 46 years.

Mo Dewji was the only billionaire in East Africa who appeared on the list. Reports indicated that the businessman created 7,000 new jobs, bringing the total number of jobs to 35,000 in 2022 from 28,000 in 2021. Across Tanzania, his business empire lately employs around 38,000 people and it has interests in the neighbouring East and Central African countries.

The MeTL Group’s 150 product lines, according to reports, are believed to generate around $2.5 billion in revenues.

Mo Dewji, a football fan, grew up in Singida, in central Tanzania. In March, New African, an English-language monthly news magazine based in London, indicated that from the age of 11, his father began to tutor him into the intricacies of the business and even took him on extended overseas trips to expose him to the wider world of commerce.

As reported, Mo Dewji attended the Tanzania International School where he enjoyed the sporting life and shared a passion for golf with his father. He was sent to the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy in Orlando, Florida, but later gave up on the idea of professional golf and switched to a regular school in Florida.

Later, he opted for international business and finance and theology as his main subjects at Georgetown University, Washington DC.

At some point, he was employed by a Wall Street firm in New York.

He returned home and began his career at MeTL, in 1999, at the age of 24, going through the grades, from financial director to becoming the President of the company.

From 1999 to 2022, it is reported that his vision, management skills, and energy took MeTL from $30 million to its current value of around $2.5 billion.

In 2022, Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters for distinguished leadership in business and philanthropy. He also delivered the 2022 McDonough Graduation Commencement Address.

He manages more than 126 businesses in various sectors of the economy – spanning trading, agriculture, manufacturing, packaging, milling, logistics, mobile telephony, IT, financial services, and real estate. The group has about 40 manufacturing industries and operates in at least eight African countries.

Dewji is a member of the enterprising Shia Ithna Asheri community with ancestral roots in India.

He entered politics in 2000 and was elected MP for his home constituency, Singida, in 2005.

Ten years later, in 2015, the father of three retired from parliament after completing two terms because, as reported, the demands of business and the international travel involved did not allow him ample time to carry out his duties as a lawmaker. The Mo Dewji Foundation, which he established in 2014, covers education, health, community development, water accessibility, and gender empowerment.

In October 2018, Dewji was kidnapped during his routine morning exercise outside a hotel gym in Dar but was released after nine days.