
Charles Gitonga speaks to entrepreneur Mohammed Dewji about being a billionaire in Africa
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Charles Gitonga
Hello, I'm Charles Gitonga, presenter of Focus on Africa and this is the interview from the BBC World. The best conversations coming out of the BBC People shaping our world from all over the world.
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Mohammed Duji
better world for men too. We need a ceasefire.
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Mohammed Duji
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Charles Gitonga
For this interview I meet Mohammed Duji, one of Africa's youngest billionaires when he came into our studio in Nairobi. Mohammed Duji is a Tanzanian businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist who has primarily accumulated his wealth from his family business. It is an East African conglomerate founded by his grandparents and expanded by his father in the 1970s. It deals with textile manufacturing Flour milling, beverages, and edible oils, among others. About 25 years ago, Africa had no dollar billionaires. Today, they are still only 23, not a huge number for a continent rich in mineral wealth and abundance of relatively cheap labor. Their combined wealth has grown to more than US$100 billion. Duji, Tanzania's only billionaire, signed the Giving Pledge in 2016, promising to donate at least half of his fortune to philanthropic causes. You are going to hear how he made his money, what it felt like to become a billionaire, and why he believes wealth comes with a sense of responsibility.
Mohammed Duji
I was 39 years old and, you know, this whole thing kind of came out in the news that, you know, Mo is not only a billionaire, but he's Africa's youngest billionaire. And, you know, a lot of people congratulated me. I felt no difference from the day before. I knew that I had to keep my eye on the ball and that I had to grow the business further. Yes, I'm a capitalist and I do want to make money, but I want to make money in the right way, ethically. But more importantly, I want to use this money to be able to give back.
Charles Gitonga
Welcome to the interview from the BBC World Service with Mohamed Doji.
BBC Interviewer
People ask, you know, being a billionaire, a dollar billionaire, for that matter, how it feels.
Mohammed Duji
So I really don't feel any different. But I feel when you have such amount of wealth, wealth comes with responsibility. I believe that this life is a transient life. You have a body and you have a soul, and your soul will continue to be in existence, and that you have a responsibility. And the responsibility is that you are one of the lucky ones that God has blessed, and therefore, you almost become like an agent that you need to use this wealth to create impact, to do philanthropy. And now that I'm 50 plus, I have been doing philanthropy. I got into politics for a principal reason of philanthropy, and I've been running my foundation. And we are focusing on many, many interesting things like education, health care, water accessibility. And I am trying to use my business acumen to be able to convert that into making a larger impact. So we all know that everybody has limited resources. So the question is that if you have $1 available, how do you use that dollar? They call it the bang for the buck. How do you use that dollar and stretch it and make impact to as many people as possible?
BBC Interviewer
So when you're giving that answer, I sensed a bit of stewardship there in the way you approach the wealth and the money. But I'm wondering whether that's something that comes along the way the richer you get, perhaps at the beginning years of your careers, it's all about push, push, push.
Mohammed Duji
Very true, yes. You have ambition, you want to, you know, diversify. You want to grow your wealth. So my journey was, you know, when I joined my father's business, I graduated from Georgetown University. What did you study? I majored in finance and international business and I migrated in theology. And the idea was at that time the per capita income in Africa was very low. It was $20 a month. And I was in the US and I kept on thinking that how do I become rich in Africa when people have such small purchasing power or disposable income? So I said, I want to follow the money. I said, okay, fine, they may have $25. How many of them are there? And there were many numbers. And of course, the population growth is quite high in Africa. And I said, how do they use their $25? Somebody wakes up in the morning, he wants to shower, he needs to use soap. So I started manufacturing soap. And then, you know, he sits down and he wants to have a mandazi or a chapati. I know you need to use wheat flour to do that. I went into the grain milling business. So I do maize milling, wheat milling, rice milling. They need cooking oil. So I went into the edible oil refining, cooking fats and margins and soap. So I followed where the money went and I went push, push, push. And in trying to build as many businesses as possible.
BBC Interviewer
Okay, I see the smile there was for the chapati. It's quite a favorite of mine, but take me a little bit just to the beginning. So this business initially was founded by your father in the 70s?
Mohammed Duji
No, it was actually founded by my grandmother and my grandfather. And they used to have a shop. And then at the back of the shop they had a house. It was not a house, it was like a room. And when I talk about they used to do retail, it's not the retail that we are talking about today.
BBC Interviewer
It's not big supply chains. And you know, the retail we talk
Mohammed Duji
about today is I buy a carton of juice and I break it down and sell one bottle of juice. That may consider be retail, but at that time they would buy one kilo of salt and sell in grams in newspapers. That's the retail we are talking about. Then after that, my father kind of energized the business and grew the business and became more of a trader. So when I joined him, he used to do a commodity trading and which today we are one of the largest commodity trading houses in eastern Central Africa. And to just mention a few things, I mean, we import everything from sugar rice, from fertilizers to bubble gum to yeast, from tractors to motorcycles, from fans to air conditioners. But we also export commodities like coffee and cocoa beans and sesame seeds and yellow gram and green milk and gum arabica and cotton. So they were commodity house, which I grew further, made it a regional commodity house and went into value addition and manufacturing because I always believed in job creation.
BBC Interviewer
So when you joined your father in this, you know, shop that you called, you know, what was your job?
Mohammed Duji
Because I was a finance major, I said, look, I, I needed to look at his financial situation in terms of his balance sheet and profit and loss. And then I realized that, okay, this was a trading business. And I said that why is it that he's importing soap while we can manufacture soap? And why is he importing edible oils? Well, we can refine edible oils. So I was at the right time where government policies were promoting industrialization. So in the past, the traders were the winners. Then the government said that if you were to bring in, let's say, raw materials, you'd have to pay lesser tax compared to bringing in finished goods. So I saw that gap and I said, look, let me go into manufacturing. And that's how the manufacturing journey started.
BBC Interviewer
So at what point do you realize, okay, I think I might become a billionaire by just doing this?
Mohammed Duji
I wanted to be a wealthy man, but I never thought about becoming a billionaire. I just thought that I need to just do as many businesses as possible. And the reason why I'm so diversified, if you take a country like China, you can just manufacture one product and become a billionaire. But in East Africa, the markets are not that big. So to answer your question, never thought as such of wanting to become a billionaire. It was more like, you know, I knew it was a step by step process and that it had to work hard, I had to be disciplined. I mean, I used to work for many, many years, hundred hour weeks. And you know, when you put discipline and when you have vision and when God blesses you and you're in the right time, in the right place, you know, things, things kind of fall into place. And with God's will, what happened, happened and I became a billionaire.
Charles Gitonga
And did you celebrate?
Mohammed Duji
Not really. I didn't because I remember, I think it was, I was 39 years old and you know, this whole thing kind of came out in the news that, you know, Mo is not only a billionaire, but he's Africa's youngest billionaire and you know, a Lot of people congratulated me. I felt no difference from the day before. And that, you know, I keep on saying this, that I knew that I had to keep my eye on the ball and that I had to grow the business further. And again, when I say to grow the business further, I'm not in the rat race. I have no ambition to continue gathering wealth, but rather I feel, yes, I want, I'm a capitalist and I do want to make money, but I want to make money in the right way ethically. But more importantly, I want to use this money to be able to give back. And thus why I signed the giving pledge.
BBC Interviewer
You know, for most of us the payday at the end of the month feels quite nice. So I'm surprised you did not have a spring in your step when you found a billion dollars and above.
Mohammed Duji
Yes. So I'll tell you something very interesting. I just remembered something. I had a friend of mine and he lives in the UK now. I remember him playing the song I wanna be a Billionaire and it was Billionaire and Forbes and I had never heard of that song and it kind of resonated and you know, we laughed about it and he's like, let me play it for you. I'm like, I'm like, are you playing it? So, so I just remember that actually. So maybe that was a small kind of moment of, let's say, a celebration between two very close friends.
Charles Gitonga
You are listening to the interview from the BBC World Service.
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Charles Gitonga
So the thing about billionaires is that they are not easy to find. Time is money, remember? And it wasn't any different with Mohamed Duji. My colleagues at Focus on Africa spent nearly six months arranging this interview. At some point, his team even suggested that we fly to meet him at his office in Dubai. But as fate would have it, Mohammed had a conference to attend in Nairobi. So we seized the moment. He gave us about half an hour for this conversation and before we could begin, he told me I should do away with the official stuff and just call him more. Now, in the next part of this interview, I put to him the argument that Africa is seeing a widening gap between a tiny elite and the rest of the population and that inequality beyond a certain level would works against society. Okay, let's return to my conversation with Mo.
Mohammed Duji
We all know that Africa is facing large unemployment. My company, Metl Group, and specifically I want to mention in Tanzania, we are employing 38,000 direct jobs.
BBC Interviewer
Those are employees that you're paying at the end of every month.
Mohammed Duji
Yes. Now we are the second largest employers after the government of United Republic of Tanzania. Now, if today I would have not generated the wealth generated and not done the business that I have done, would this 38,000 plus people have jobs? Point number one. Point number two. If you look at intrapreneurs, we are paying all types of taxes and sometimes I call that the government is actually our partner. So when you are paying, whether it is duties, whether it is vat, whether it is Railway development levies, whether it is corporate tax, end of the day, whatever money you are making, you are paying taxes. And the same money is being used to take social services to poor people. Third, that I in specific, I do a lot of impact and philanthropy.
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Mohammed Duji
And as much as I agree with him that there is a difference between the haves and the have nots, but if you are a responsible billionaire, then I feel that you face lesser of a problem because. And we will talk about when I was kidnapped for nine days, I was blindfolded, hand and legs tied. One, God saved me, I believe, because I'm a man of faith. But two, the poor of the poorest who are praying for me. And you can go back in, whether social media, whether newspapers, that now where have you seen a rich man getting kidnapped and poor people praying for him? So to answer to him that there's two sides of the coin and I feel that I am personally responsible with the money that I've earned to make sure that I alleviate poverty, support my government and help the underprivileged.
BBC Interviewer
The impact is there. You've talked about over 30,000 employees. I also read that your companies contribute over 5% to Tanzania's economy, which is huge. That's a lot of impact. So I think the question, sometimes the moral question is whether you need to get so rich while doing it. Yes, it's helping, it gives employment. But does it have to put you at that level or could the system work in a way that more people rise with you?
Mohammed Duji
So my issue is the richer you get, the more business you do, the more taxes you pay, the more employment you give, the more philanthropy you do. So I think this is my view, I think there is nothing wrong in that unless you have someone that is dependent on doing things that are not correct and is not employing people and not giving back, then it's another story. But I think that it helps people.
BBC Interviewer
Let's explore an aspect of what comes up as a solution which is taxes for the wealth. So not taxes for the company, you know, or the employees or, you know, the different taxes you have to pay, but specifically targeted at your wealth. What do you think about it?
Mohammed Duji
I don't have a problem. I think, look, already taxes in Africa are very high. I think this is one of the biggest problems. I mean, if you go and see taxes, let's take in this. Averagely in Africa, taxes range between 40 to 50%. Now when you increase taxes further than that, that means you're going to kill the business. So you're basically going to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. And that will be a problem. So you need to look for innovative ways on how to use these billionaires to help your cause. But I don't think taxes would be the right way.
BBC Interviewer
Okay, so what do you think though fundamentally is the issue that creates billionaires in Africa? And perhaps you can talk about Tanzania. What's a system that creates billionaires but still leaves out a lot of other people on the other side of the coin? Is it something that fundamentally needs to change so it doesn't allow you to get so rich if so many other people are not getting as rich?
Mohammed Duji
I don't think it has to be either or what I think that governments need to have policies. Now, one of the areas that is agriculture. 40% of Africa of the world's arable land is in Africa, but here, yet Africa uses billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of foreign exchange to import food. Now, when you have all these geopolitical crises and when prices go up, what happens is that the men on the ground who has a very limited disposable income gets hurt. So what do we need to do is we need to push these billionaires to invest in patient capital in agriculture. And when I say that, look, small holders may sound very sexy and I love the small holders, but the impetus has to be by that billionaire who is going to invest in in hundred thousand hectares, grow grain, corn, rice, wheat, edibles, soybean, sunflower. Then on the periphery, create a small holder structure where they promise them three things. One, you give them seedlings that are hybrid seedlings. Two, you give them fertilizers and inputs, whether it may be insecticides or pesticides or fungicides, and you loan them so that they do not have to need capital to be able to do work in their farms. And three, give them a transparent offtake of that product. My argument is that we need to pull people up. Rather than thinking or having an ideology of pushing that one person or 20 billionaires in Africa down. That does not guarantee you that that will push the 1.3 billion people up.
BBC Interviewer
Okay, I see. What's your advice to a young person out there who still has that push, push, push. They would really want to become a billionaire.
Mohammed Duji
So the push, push, push is amazing. And I've said this before in my interviews, you know, to become a billionaire, there is no elevators, no escalators. It is Lazma Upandengazi, you have to take the stairs. And it is a step by step process, you know, and when you do push, push, push, you know, don't think that, you know, I get up in the morning and I and I'm not tired. I'm equally as tired as you are. But you just have to push yourself out of it and, you know, hustle.
BBC Interviewer
Right?
Mohammed Duji
Biggest regret My biggest regret is not spending time with my family while I was chasing money.
Charles Gitonga
Thank you for listening to the interview. If you enjoyed this conversation, you can find many more episodes of the interview wherever you get your BBC podcasts, including ones with Sierra Leone's first lady Fatma Bio, former Sudanese leader Aisha Moorsa and soon Ali from the International Organization for Migration. Until next time. Bye for now.
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Podcast: The Interview — BBC World Service
Host: Charles Gitonga
Guest: Mohammed Dewji (Tanzanian businessman, philanthropist, Africa’s youngest billionaire)
Date: June 9, 2026
Duration: ~25 minutes (content without ads and outro)
This episode features an in-depth conversation with Mohammed Dewji (“Mo”), Tanzania’s only dollar billionaire, philanthropist, and CEO of MeTL Group. The discussion explores Mo’s business journey, his family business legacy, the responsibilities of wealth, philanthropy, and the broader context of inequality and economic development in Africa. Mo emphasizes the importance of ethical wealth creation, giving back, and impact-driven leadership.
"I felt no difference from the day before. I knew I had to keep my eye on the ball and that I had to grow the business further." – Mohammed Dewji (03:42)
“Wealth comes with responsibility... You are one of the lucky ones that God has blessed, and therefore, you almost become like an agent that you need to use this wealth to create impact.” – Mohammed Dewji (04:39)
“Why is it that he’s importing soap while we can manufacture soap?” – Mohammed Dewji (10:19)
“Never thought as such of wanting to become a billionaire... It was a step-by-step process.” – Mohammed Dewji (11:16)
“So maybe that was a small kind of moment of, let's say, a celebration between two very close friends.” – Mohammed Dewji (13:49)
“Now, if today I would have not generated the wealth generated and not done the business that I have done, would this 38,000 plus people have jobs?” – Mohammed Dewji (18:03)
“If you are a responsible billionaire, then I feel that you face lesser of a problem.” – Mohammed Dewji (19:22)
"Already taxes in Africa are very high... you’re going to kill the goose that lays the golden egg." – Mohammed Dewji (22:10)
"My argument is that we need to pull people up. Rather than thinking or having an ideology of pushing that one person or 20 billionaires in Africa down. That does not guarantee you that that will push the 1.3 billion people up." – Mohammed Dewji (25:15)
Journey to Wealth
"To become a billionaire, there is no elevators, no escalators. It is Lazma Upandengazi, you have to take the stairs." – Mohammed Dewji (25:53)
Biggest Regret
“My biggest regret is not spending time with my family while I was chasing money.” – Mohammed Dewji (26:32)
Kidnapping Incident
"The poor of the poorest who are praying for me... where have you seen a rich man getting kidnapped and poor people praying for him?" – Mohammed Dewji (19:22)
| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |------------|---------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:42 | Dewji | "I felt no difference from the day before. I knew that I had to keep my eye on the ball and that I had to grow..." | | 04:39 | Dewji | “Wealth comes with responsibility... you almost become like an agent that you need to use this wealth to create impact.” | | 10:19 | Dewji | "Why is it that he's importing soap while we can manufacture soap?" | | 11:16 | Dewji | "Never thought as such of wanting to become a billionaire... step by step process." | | 13:49 | Dewji | "So maybe that was a small kind of moment of, let's say, a celebration between two very close friends." | | 18:03 | Dewji | "Now, if today I would have not generated the wealth generated and not done the business that I have done..." | | 19:22 | Dewji | "If you are a responsible billionaire, then I feel that you face lesser of a problem." | | 22:10 | Dewji | "Already taxes in Africa are very high... you're going to kill the goose that lays the golden egg." | | 25:15 | Dewji | "We need to pull people up. Rather than thinking or having an ideology of pushing that one person or 20 billionaires in Africa down..." | | 25:53 | Dewji | "To become a billionaire... there is Lazma Upandengazi, you have to take the stairs." | | 26:32 | Dewji | "My biggest regret is not spending time with my family while I was chasing money." |
| Timestamp | Topic/Segment | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:04 | Introduction to Mo and the interview's purpose | | 03:42 | Mo’s feelings after hitting billionaire status | | 06:37 | Early ambition and business strategy | | 08:32 | The origins of the family business | | 11:11 | Recognition as a billionaire; motivation and diversification | | 13:49 | A moment of celebration (the "I Wanna Be a Billionaire" anecdote) | | 17:43 | On inequality and the role of wealth in society | | 18:03 | Impact through employment and taxes | | 19:21 | Philanthropy and the kidnapping reference | | 22:10 | On wealth taxes and sustainability | | 23:23 | Role of agriculture, policies, and recommendations for Africa | | 25:53 | Advice to young entrepreneurs | | 26:32 | Mo’s biggest regret |
Mohammed Dewji presents a compelling perspective on capitalist success, ethical wealth, and social responsibility. He firmly believes in leveraging business acumen for broad-based impact, particularly in job creation, philanthropy, and sectoral development like agriculture, while rejecting punitive approaches to wealth distribution. The episode dispels the myth of overnight success and underscores personal sacrifices made on the path to great wealth. Mo’s humility, sense of faith, and practical advice stand out as key takeaways for aspiring entrepreneurs and those concerned with Africa’s economic future.