Mo Dewji, Tanzania’s youngest billionaire who wants to be Africa’s biggest farmer
Mohammed Mo Dewji is Forbes Richest Man in Tanzania but his dreams go beyond his country, he wants to make a major change in the African continent using Agriculture.
Dewji, a former politician, served as a Member of Parliament for his home Singida in Tanzania from 2005 to 2015.
At 48 years old, the youngest billionaire according to Forbes, has a range of businesses including textiles, transport and logistics, agriculture, food and beverages, and mobile telephony among others, all through his conglomerate MeTL Group.
He also owns a popular football club in Tanzania, the Simba Sports Club, and has a 49% stake in the club.
But Dewji wants to do more with agribusiness to make an impact first in his country and other African countries on the continent.
According to Forbes, he is seeking to mechanise several hectares of agricultural lands in the country by investing $250 million.
He hopes to invest $100 million of his capital to make up the sum with which he envisions buying and mechanizing 100,000 hectares of farmland in Tanzania.
This involves the use of machines to farm and produce to reduce the need for manual labour.
From these farms, Dewji will invest in its businesses, particularly those that deal with food and beverages, and the surpluses will be distributed to other Tanzanian firms, African companies, and European customers.
“I want to make Africa, long term, a food basket for the world,” Forbes quoted the young billionaire who said that he envisioned the plan after seeing the negative impacts of the Russian-Ukraine war on African countries including his.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine led to massive food inflation, poverty, and malnutrition, also resulting in over-reliance on foreign aid which includes food aid.
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research states that Tanzania is the second biggest receiver of foreign aid after Ethiopia, receiving $26.85 Billion between 1990 and 2010.
Dewji, through his plan, intends to transform the agricultural fortunes of Tanzania to serve as an example to the rest of the world and then replicate this success in other African countries with investment from global investors.
A Professor of Economics at Tufts University, Magaret McMillan described the move as amazing, projecting bigger implications for the agricultural sector in Africa if the project is successful.
“This is larger than Tanzania: a success here could have implications for the continent as a whole. If he could use it as a flagship to show how {large-scale farming] can be done successfully, that would be amazing,” she was quoted by Forbes.
