Tanzania’s Dewji named wealthiest person in East Africa

Tanzanian businessman Mohammed Dewji is the only East African who has made it to the 2025 Forbes list of the top 22 wealthiest Africans.

The top 22 African billionaires is dominated by businessmen from South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco.

With a wealth of about $2.2 billion, the lone Tanzanian in the top 22 wealthiest people on the continent also effectively assumes the richest East African businessman tag by being the only person in the EAC region to break into the exclusive circle of billionaires dominated by South Africans, Nigerians, Egyptians and Moroccan businessmen.

The only Ugandans to have ever made it to the list of the top 20 wealthiest Africans on the continent in the last 10 years is Mr Sudhir Ruparelia, who was ranked number 18 in the whole of Africa, according to the second 'Africa's 40 Richest' list released by Forbes magazine then.

With less than a month to celebrate his 49th birthday, Dewji is also Africa’s youngest billionaire.

Mr Dewji leads the METL Group, a Tanzanian powerhouse with diverse interests in manufacturing, agriculture, and distribution.

Operating in over 11 countries, his business empire continues to drive industrial growth across Tanzania and beyond. He is also a dedicated philanthropist, channeling substantial funds into education and healthcare initiatives to uplift communities’ livelihoods.

Africa’s billionaires

Africa’s top billionaires’ combined wealth surpassed the $100 billion mark for the first time. The 22 billionaires from Africa saw their fortunes grow to a total of $105 billion, up from $82.4 billion and 20 billionaires last year.

This is a step in the right direction as considering several institutional and structural challenges standing in the way of generating wealth on the continent.

Even in the face of the challenges, many of which are unique to Africa’s developing economy, including predatory global economic systems and financial architecture stifling the continent’s efforts to graduate from primary producers of raw materials to exporters of processed products, the various businesses owned by the African billionaires, including businessman Dewji, were able to register some growth.

Businessman Aliko Dangote of Nigeria continues to hold strong on the first position after topping the list for the 14th year in a row with an estimated net worth of $23.9 billion, up from $13.9 billion previously.

The second richest African is South African luxury goods tycoon Johann Rupert, whose fortune rose to nearly 40 percent. Rupert has held the number two spot for the last three years.

South Africa had the largest number of billionaires this year, with seven, followed by four from Nigeria and four from Egypt. The list also includes three solo billionaires from Morocco, Algeria, Zimbabwe and finally from Tanzania - the businessman Mohammed Dewiji.

Utility

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

METL is active in textile manufacturing, flour milling, beverages and edible oils in eastern, southern and central Africa.

METL operates in 10 African countries, including Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Dewji, Tanzania's only billionaire, signed the Giving Pledge in 2016, promising to donate at least half his fortune to philanthropic causes.

Dewji, who was once a politician, is believed to have been kidnapped at gunpoint in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in October 2018 and released after nine days.