MOHAMMED DEWJI IS A BUSINESSMAN, ENTREPRENEUR, PHILANTHROPIST AND FORMER POLITICIAN.
He serves as the President of MeTL Group, a Tanzanian conglomerate founded by his father in the 1970s, where he is the majority owner of the business. To date, MeTL’s operations contribute ~3.3% of Tanzania’s GDP.
Mohammed served as a Member of Parliament from 2005 – 2015 for his hometown of Singida, after which he resigned from politics. In 2021, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Mohammed to serve on the investment advisory council for the Republic of South Africa, a position Mohammed still holds.
In addition to his many endeavours in business, Mohammed has contributed to the well-being of the people of his country via the Mo Dewji Foundation, which he established in 2014. The scope of his contributions covers education, health, community development, water accessibility and gender empowerment. In 2016, Mohammed joined the Giving Pledge, an initiative started by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. This pledge aims to address society’s most pressing problems by inviting the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to commit over half of their wealth to philanthropy either during their lifetime or after.
Mohammed is the first Tanzanian and one of few Africans to have made the pledge. He is now a part of a community of 150+ Giving Pledge billionaires. Mohammed is also an investor in football, with a 49% stake in Simba Sports Club, the largest and most popular sports club in Tanzania. Since his investment 4 years ago, the club has made it to the quarterfinals of the African Champions league and is now ranked one of the top 20 clubs in the continent.