How he built a billion dollar business in Tanzania

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Mo alianza na 1 mil. USD. Sasa hivi annual revenue zao zinakadiriwa around USD 1.1 bil. na wanasema wameajiri watu 24,000. Hii maana yake ni kwamba on average kila mwajiriwa mmoja anaingiza annual revenue ya 45,800 USD ambayo ni sawa na milioni 73. Average salary ya mfanyazi mmoja ikiwa sh. laki 6 (This is an over estimation though) atalipwa sh. mil 7.2 kwa mwaka.

Hapo maana yake ni kwamba mfanyakazi mmoja ameleta revenue ya sh. mil 65.8, ambayo ni sawa na mil. 5.4 kwa mwezi au 180,000 kwa siku. Get this right fellas - on average every day kila mfanyakazi wa Dewji anamuingizia sh. 180,000.

Narudia. Mo alianza na 1 mil. USD ambayo ni sawa na bil. 1.6 TZS. Kwahiyo iwapo vijana 10 wenye mawazo mazuri ya biashara watachanga sh. mil 16 kila mmoja, watapata mil. 160 ambazo ni 10% ya mtajia alioanza nao Mo. Miaka 15 later watu hao wanaweza kuongeza revenues zao 1000 fold (kama alivyofanya Mo) na kuwa na revenue za shilingi bilioni 160!

Mo baba yake alikuwa tajiri akamkopesa bilioni. Wewe kama baba yako sio tajiri usikae chini na kutoa machozi au kujifariji kwa kumsema vibaya Mo. Be creative, shirikiana na mwenzako ambaye baba yake sio tajiri ili mpate mtaji wa kuweza kuingia sokoni. Hii ni dunia ya ushindani - huwezi kushinda kwa maneno matupu ya wivu...

Jamani kama ni wezi, mbona Watanzania ni wezi namba moja halafu tunaishia kuhonga mademu magari? Mimi naamini katika kufanya kazi kwa bidii na mipango na malengo. kama huna malengo na mipango, kila mwisho wa mwezi unashinda baa mpaka mshahara unaisha in one week, sahau maendeleo. Tutabaki kulalamika kila siku watu wanafanya mambo.

Waswahili sisi ni kazi sana kufikia level hizi..kwanza kabisa wengi wetu tunathamini sana kuajiriwa which inturns makes us slaves en workin class, pili hatuna umoja personally naonaga tu wahindi au waarabu wako na umoja na wanafanya kazi in families lakini sisi ukisema umshirikisue kaka ako either atakufilisi au atataka kukuzulumu au kuwazulumu wanao..ila inabidi tufahamu kwamba wahindi wengi au waarabu waliuza unga sana kipindi cha mzee ruksa..ndo mana wakatengeneza hizo start up capitals mpaka huyu jamaa ameomba $1 million si mchezo..zetu sisi waswahili ni kuona fahari mtu kufanya kazi TRA, BOT, EWURA etc na kulipwa milioni kadhaa ambazo baada ya miaka kadhaa utastaafu nila kuwaaachia wanaolegacy yoyote ile ya kuiendeleza..over..!!

Behind any successful story....!!!!!

Biashara especially za level hiyo ni zaid ya story za forbes.,achana na recorded stories; kwa walio karibu na wafanyabiashara wakubwa mtashuhudia haya maneno yangu!!!!!

hate it or luv it,its so inspiring,tukibadili mfumo wa elimu yetu,mitahala ianze kuandaa enterpreneurs na sio employee,tz ni miongoni mwa nchi chache dunia ambazo kuna fursa za kufa mtu,enterpreneurs ndio watatawala dunia,pamoja na kuwa familia imembeba lkn pia elimu aliyoipata Mo abroad ilimuandaa vizuri kuwa succesful enterprenuer,by the way tuliopo humu humu na elimu yetu hii hii inawezekana tukatoboa hata km hatuna background nzur ya kifedha,ujasiriamali na utajiri unachangiwa na ubunifu,fursa,wazo,kujiamini na kusimamia maamuzi.

nngu007 said:

[h=1]by the citizen | wednesday, july 10 2013 at 10:54[/h]

when mr gulam dewji, a tanzanian businessman called his son mohammed to come back to africa and join a family business about 14 years ago, little did he know that this would create a multi-million dollar business.

​

mo on the forbe’s cover for july 1, 2013. Photo | the citizen ​

being a young graduate of georgetown university in washington d.c, mohammed's interest was in building a career in international business and finance.

life hardships in a foreign land left him with no option but to heed his father’s call to come back home. He has now built a strong company.

like any other graduate, dewji jr, popularly known as mo, got a job at wall street after graduating, he toldforbes magazine.

the american biweekly published his photo on its front cover of its june 1, 2013 edition.

at wall street, mo worked 100-hour weeks and earned an annual salary of $40,000, with an added bonus of $20,000.

but a good chunk of that money went to taxes, making life difficult for him.

"thirty per cent went to taxes, $30,000 to pay my rent in manhattan and what i was left with was barely enough to build the life that i wanted…i asked my father to give me more money but, being a practical man, he simply said he would not send me any money and that there was opportunity for me to come back to tanzania," he recalls.

new era
so he returned to africa in 1999, heralding a new era at mohammed enterprises tanzania limited (metl).

during that time, the company was a trading house that mostly dealt with commodities with an annual revenue of $26 million.

his first move then was to seize opportunities as they arose and privatisation was one of those things he decided to benefit from.

"i recognised that there was tremendous opportunity for business growth particularly in the manufacturing sector," he says.

then he also thought about starting up an edible oil refinery.

"naturally, my father felt this was a risky move so i borrowed $1 million from my father and bought a soap plant that manufactured one tonne per hour," he said.

at present, that factory produces 20 tonnes an hour. He then proceeded to buy an edible oil refinery with a capacity of 60 tonnes a day. With time and further investments, its capacity today is at 2,200 tonnes a day.

repaid loan
mo managed to repay that loan to his father, something that gave him (his father) the confidence in the way forward in terms of growth for metl.

"for him, it was a huge shift from what he knew as a trading business that he started from scratch, to moving towards a more corporate structure and vision for metl as a group of companies. Today, our projected revenue for 2013 is just over a billion dollars in tanzania alone, we employ more than 24,000 people," mo told forbes.

the company has diversified in trading, manufacturing, agriculture, financial services, real estate, mobile telephony and distribution.

in tanzania alone, the group has over 31 industries in manufacturing ranging from textiles and detergents, to edible oils, plastics and grain milling.

in agriculture, the company owns over 60,000 hectares. It also grows cotton. It also gins, spins, weaves, processes and prints – producing 100 million metres of cloth/year.

"the revenue from our group of companies constitutes a little over 3 per cent of the gdp of tanzania and employs 5 per cent of the formal employment sector,” he says.

not satisfied
but he is not satisfied yet. The company which also has operations in malawi, mozambique, zambia, dubai and moving into uganda, is looking into having a strong presence in east and central africa.

"our vision is that by 2018 the metl group will have an annual revenue of $5 billion and employ 40,000 people," he says.

thus in short, the company has grown 30 fold in the last 14 years. “if someone asks me who is smarter between my father and i, my one answer is that it is my father! Why? Because to make money from money is easier than to make money from nothing," he says.

apart from business, 38-year-old mo is a politician. He is the singida urban mp.

Click to expand...

chasaka 🙂

nngu007 said:

By THE CITIZEN | Wednesday, July 10 2013 at 10:54

When Mr Gulam Dewji, a Tanzanian businessman called his son Mohammed to come back to Africa and join a family business about 14 years ago, little did he know that this would create a multi-million dollar business.

​

Mo on the Forbe's Cover for July 1, 2013. PHOTO | THE CITIZEN ​

Being a young graduate of Georgetown University in Washington D.C, Mohammed's interest was in building a career in international business and finance.

Life hardships in a foreign land left him with no option but to heed his father's call to come back home. He has now built a strong company.

Like any other graduate, Dewji Jr, popularly known as Mo, got a job at Wall Street after graduating, he toldForbes magazine.

The American biweekly published his photo on its front cover of its June 1, 2013 edition.

At Wall Street, Mo worked 100-hour weeks and earned an annual salary of $40,000, with an added bonus of $20,000.

But a good chunk of that money went to taxes, making life difficult for him.

"Thirty per cent went to taxes, $30,000 to pay my rent in Manhattan and what I was left with was barely enough to build the life that I wanted…I asked my father to give me more money but, being a practical man, he simply said he would not send me any money and that there was opportunity for me to come back to Tanzania," he recalls.

New era
So he returned to Africa in 1999, heralding a new era at Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited (METL).

During that time, the company was a trading house that mostly dealt with commodities with an annual revenue of $26 million.

His first move then was to seize opportunities as they arose and privatisation was one of those things he decided to benefit from.

"I recognised that there was tremendous opportunity for business growth particularly in the manufacturing sector," he says.

Then he also thought about starting up an edible oil refinery.

"Naturally, my father felt this was a risky move so I borrowed $1 million from my father and bought a soap plant that manufactured one tonne per hour," he said.

At present, that factory produces 20 tonnes an hour. He then proceeded to buy an edible oil refinery with a capacity of 60 tonnes a day. With time and further investments, its capacity today is at 2,200 tonnes a day.

Repaid loan
Mo managed to repay that loan to his father, something that gave him (his father) the confidence in the way forward in terms of growth for METL.

"For him, it was a huge shift from what he knew as a trading business that he started from scratch, to moving towards a more corporate structure and vision for METL as a group of companies. Today, our projected revenue for 2013 is just over a billion dollars in Tanzania alone, we employ more than 24,000 people," Mo told Forbes.

The company has diversified in trading, manufacturing, agriculture, financial services, real estate, mobile telephony and distribution.

In Tanzania alone, the group has over 31 industries in manufacturing ranging from textiles and detergents, to edible oils, plastics and grain milling.

In agriculture, the company owns over 60,000 hectares. It also grows cotton. It also gins, spins, weaves, processes and prints – producing 100 million metres of cloth/year.

"The revenue from our group of companies constitutes a little over 3 per cent of the GDP of Tanzania and employs 5 per cent of the formal employment sector," he says.

Not satisfied
But he is not satisfied yet. The company which also has operations in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Dubai and moving into Uganda, is looking into having a strong presence in East and Central Africa.

"Our vision is that by 2018 the METL Group will have an annual revenue of $5 billion and employ 40,000 people," he says.

Thus in short, the company has grown 30 fold in the last 14 years. "If someone asks me who is smarter between my father and I, my one answer is that it is my father! Why? Because to make money from money is easier than to make money from nothing," he says.

Apart from business, 38-year-old Mo is a politician. He is the Singida Urban MP.

Click to expand...

Hongera sana Mo! kusema kweli, ni story nzuri ambayo inatia moyo. kuchangamkia fursa ni kitu cha muhimu sana katika maisha, na kwa story hii naona wewe ni mfano mmojawapo wa kuigwa. vijana wa tz tunatakiwa kuchangamkia fursa na kuzitafuta popote pale zilipo na zinapotokea, mwenzetu alichangamkia pamoja na mambo mengine, fursa za wakati wa privatization. kitu kingine ambacho nimekipenda sana ni kwamba, wakati baba yake kwa kipindi yeye yupo wallstreet, baba yake kusema kweli sio kwamba alikuwa masikini, kwa maandishi hapo juu ni kwamba alikuwa na billions of shillings, lakini hata hivyo yeye hakubweteka kukaa nyumbani ili ale mabilioni ya baba yake kama watoto wengine wa matajiri wanavyofanya, hakuvuta mibangi na unga kama watoto wengine wa vigogo/matajiri wanavyofanya, aliamua kujitegemea akaanza kufanya kazi ya kipato kidogo marekani, napenda ninavyoona baba yake aliamua kumweka kwenye mazingira ya kujitegemea asimtegemee baba yake, akakataa hata kumtumia hela marekani, na kusema dogo njoo huuku home tz uchangamkie fursa..., aliporudi, utakuta dingi yake hakumwacha abweteke, mo alikopa pesa (sio kupewa bure), ambazo ilibidi afanye kazi hadi aje azirudishe deni kwa baba yake....hii ni mfano mzuri, ukiwa na watoto hata kama wewe unao uwezo, lazima uwaweke kwenye mazingira ya kujitegemea kama huyu mzee alivyofanya, sio kuwalisha tu. hongera sana bro.

Baada ya kutoka US ame amplify production na productivity ya kampuni za familia na kutengeneza 3% ya GDP ya TZ na siyo revenue ya Tanzania. Kampuni za namna hiyo nyerere alizitengeneza kama mashirika ya umma na kuajiri wakurugenzi wenye elimu na vipaji labda sawa au zaidi ya Bw. Mo. Ikikumbukwa kwamba yalikuwepo zaidi ya 200 infact the largest number in south of sahara, halafu hata kama robo yake tu 50 enterprises zingeongozwa na wenye uaminifu kama mo kwa baba yake, yange generate equivalent ya 150% ya GDP ya sasa na of course GDP yenyewe ingekuwa kubwa zaidi kwa kuwa sekta nyingine zingekuwa kubwa zaidi. GDP ingekuwa kubwa kwa EAC yote combined. Fundisho kuwa indeed state owned enterprises zilihitaji reforms kitu ambacho tuliharibu na just kuziuza kwa hasara lakini cha maana zaidi, ufisadi na mbaya zaidi mafisadi wasio na vision ndiyo wameletea sekta ya uzalishaji imefifia kwa kuwa hata waliofilisi mashirika hawakuwa focused on enterpreneural growth but rather on starehe and ulimbukeni mwingine. Hiyo ndiyo shida kubwa yetu kama nchi na hata race watu weusi. Ni lazima tujifunze na tujirudi.

NasDaz said:

Ndo maana ncho hii tutaendelea kuwa maskini manake kila mwenye mafanikio; basi yeye ni mwizi implying kwamba mtu hawezi kufanikiwa hadi awe mwizi....na kwavile wengine tunajifanya hatuwezi kuwa wezi hatuwezi kujaribu kufanikiwa since we believe the only path through success is just through illegal business!!

Big Up MO!

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Wewe ndio hopeless coz unaamini wahindi kwa wizi wao Uliza ushahidi tuu utajua wizi wao wa kutoa mtaji wa dola 26ml hewani wewe kaa kimya kama hujui

ChescoMatunda said:

Wewe ndio hopeless coz unaamini wahindi kwa wizi wao Uliza ushahidi tuu utajua wizi wao wa kutoa mtaji wa dola 26ml hewani wewe kaa kimya kama hujui

Click to expand...

Hongera wewe ni mwenye miakili lakini next time watch the movement of your fingers while typing.....ni ushauri tu coz' usizani watu hatufahamu hizo lugha za hovyo hovyo!

zomba said:

Mijitu roho mbaya tu humu, mnaona wenzenu wanaziona fursa na kuzitumia nyie mmelala, mnabaki,sijui pembe za tembo, sijui wizi.

Fanyeni kweli, fursa zimejaa Tanzania.

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Sina macho nini mana sizioni hizo fursa....please show me mzee wa system at work.

sun wu said:

From the face of it I would say job well done..., and rather patriotic of you.. Mr Mo..

But then am thinking..., where are all those so called industries and production of more than a million metres of cloth ?, why cant i see them in the shops, also does he really employ more than 24,000 people ?

This makes me wonder if the whole story is not a bunch of make believe

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Haaaahaaa....we acha tu. Nilichoka sana yule mzee wa diamond motor alipofariki akaandikwa kwenye magazeti likiwemo Daily News juu ya jinsi alivyokuwa mfanyabiashara hodari. Biashara inachanganywa na mambo mengine ili iwahi kutengeneza mamilioni.

amasema vema "ni rahisi kutengeneza fedha toka kwa pesa kuliko kuzitengeneza kutoka sifuri." Sie tuliotoka kimanzi na kiraracha, tukasoma St. Kanumba na kuishia kariakoo kubeba magunia tunapaswa kuwa kama Mo senior tuwaandalie wanetu $1 mil. za kuwakopesha. Inawezekana tukiacha visingizio.

amasema vema "ni rahisi kutengeneza fedha toka kwa pesa kuliko kuzitengeneza kutoka sifuri." Sie tuliotoka kimanzi na kiraracha, tukasoma St. Kanumba na kuishia kariakoo kubeba magunia tunapaswa kuwa kama Mo senior tuwaandalie wanetu $1 mil. za kuwakopesha. Inawezekana tukiacha visingizio.

believer said:

hate it or luv it,its so inspiring,tukibadili mfumo wa elimu yetu,mitahala ianze kuandaa enterpreneurs na sio employee,tz ni miongoni mwa nchi chache dunia ambazo kuna fursa za kufa mtu,enterpreneurs ndio watatawala dunia,pamoja na kuwa familia imembeba lkn pia elimu aliyoipata Mo abroad ilimuandaa vizuri kuwa succesful enterprenuer,by the way tuliopo humu humu na elimu yetu hii hii inawezekana tukatoboa hata km hatuna background nzur ya kifedha,ujasiriamali na utajiri unachangiwa na ubunifu,fursa,wazo,kujiamini na kusimamia maamuzi.

Click to expand...

acha magumashi,,patrick ngowi kasoma wapi??

believer said:

hate it or luv it,its so inspiring,tukibadili mfumo wa elimu yetu,mitahala ianze kuandaa enterpreneurs na sio employee,tz ni miongoni mwa nchi chache dunia ambazo kuna fursa za kufa mtu,enterpreneurs ndio watatawala dunia,pamoja na kuwa familia imembeba lkn pia elimu aliyoipata Mo abroad ilimuandaa vizuri kuwa succesful enterprenuer,by the way tuliopo humu humu na elimu yetu hii hii inawezekana tukatoboa hata km hatuna background nzur ya kifedha,ujasiriamali na utajiri unachangiwa na ubunifu,fursa,wazo,kujiamini na kusimamia maamuzi.

Click to expand...

acha magumashi,,patrick ngowi kasoma wapi,,baba yake ghulam kasoma wapi because he says his father is smarter than him,,ondoa inferiority complex

Mo hana lolote,angekuja na mtaji+ideal. ding ndo hiro aliweza kumsomesha, kupata mtaji,aliona fulsa akamrudisha hom.

nngu007 said:

[h=1]By THE CITIZEN | Wednesday, July 10 2013 at 10:54[/h]

When Mr Gulam Dewji, a Tanzanian businessman called his son Mohammed to come back to Africa and join a family business about 14 years ago, little did he know that this would create a multi-million dollar business.

​

Mo on the Forbe’s Cover for July 1, 2013. PHOTO | THE CITIZEN ​

Being a young graduate of Georgetown University in Washington D.C, Mohammed's interest was in building a career in international business and finance.

Life hardships in a foreign land left him with no option but to heed his father’s call to come back home. He has now built a strong company.

Like any other graduate, Dewji Jr, popularly known as Mo, got a job at Wall Street after graduating, he toldForbes magazine.

The American biweekly published his photo on its front cover of its June 1, 2013 edition.

At Wall Street, Mo worked 100-hour weeks and earned an annual salary of $40,000, with an added bonus of $20,000.

But a good chunk of that money went to taxes, making life difficult for him.

"Thirty per cent went to taxes, $30,000 to pay my rent in Manhattan and what I was left with was barely enough to build the life that I wanted…I asked my father to give me more money but, being a practical man, he simply said he would not send me any money and that there was opportunity for me to come back to Tanzania," he recalls.

New era
So he returned to Africa in 1999, heralding a new era at Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited (METL).

During that time, the company was a trading house that mostly dealt with commodities with an annual revenue of $26 million.

His first move then was to seize opportunities as they arose and privatisation was one of those things he decided to benefit from.

"I recognised that there was tremendous opportunity for business growth particularly in the manufacturing sector," he says.

Then he also thought about starting up an edible oil refinery.

"Naturally, my father felt this was a risky move so I borrowed $1 million from my father and bought a soap plant that manufactured one tonne per hour," he said.

At present, that factory produces 20 tonnes an hour. He then proceeded to buy an edible oil refinery with a capacity of 60 tonnes a day. With time and further investments, its capacity today is at 2,200 tonnes a day.

Repaid loan
Mo managed to repay that loan to his father, something that gave him (his father) the confidence in the way forward in terms of growth for METL.

"For him, it was a huge shift from what he knew as a trading business that he started from scratch, to moving towards a more corporate structure and vision for METL as a group of companies. Today, our projected revenue for 2013 is just over a billion dollars in Tanzania alone, we employ more than 24,000 people," Mo told Forbes.

The company has diversified in trading, manufacturing, agriculture, financial services, real estate, mobile telephony and distribution.

In Tanzania alone, the group has over 31 industries in manufacturing ranging from textiles and detergents, to edible oils, plastics and grain milling.

In agriculture, the company owns over 60,000 hectares. It also grows cotton. It also gins, spins, weaves, processes and prints – producing 100 million metres of cloth/year.

"The revenue from our group of companies constitutes a little over 3 per cent of the GDP of Tanzania and employs 5 per cent of the formal employment sector,” he says.

Not satisfied
But he is not satisfied yet. The company which also has operations in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Dubai and moving into Uganda, is looking into having a strong presence in East and Central Africa.

"Our vision is that by 2018 the METL Group will have an annual revenue of $5 billion and employ 40,000 people," he says.

Thus in short, the company has grown 30 fold in the last 14 years. “If someone asks me who is smarter between my father and I, my one answer is that it is my father! Why? Because to make money from money is easier than to make money from nothing," he says.

Apart from business, 38-year-old Mo is a politician. He is the Singida Urban MP.

Click to expand...

Jamaa kumbe is very smart

kadoda11 said:

hofu yangu ni cc watoto wa wakulima coming frm families having no political & business background/tuliopitia kayumba primary schools,tutafikia level za MO..?.

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kila kitu kinawezekana mkuu if u'll believe in it and then ukaamua kutake action don't ask urself WHY? But ask urself HOW?

I love the story though watu wengi inaonekana wamekata tamaa baada ya jamaa kusema kuwa alikopeshwa 1 million Us dollar na baba yake so wao wanaamim hawezi kufanikiwa kwasababu tu ya background ya wazaz wao (kwamba hawana pesa na ni wakulima). Cha msingi inabidi tuelewe kuwa "we can't path the same way" ndugu zangu sio kweli kwamba matajiri wote wakubwa wamepita katika njia zinazofanana hapana haipo hivyo ndugu zangu.