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Big brands like Coke and Unilever are set to face competition from East Africa’s richest man

Tanzanian billionaire Mohammed Dewji
  • Mohammed Dewji disclosed that he is prime to compete with the likes of Coke, Unilever, and Pepsi.
  • This assessment is predicated on the fact that his company sold over a billion of his soda brand in 2022. 
  • Mohammed Dewji is the CEO of METL, a Tanzanian company created in the 1970s.

Mohammed Dewji, a businessman from Tanzania and the only known dollar billionaire in East Africa, recently decided that he is now prepared to compete with some of the world’s wealthiest conglomerates, including Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, Pepsi, and Coca-Cola.

He made this announcement during his interview with CNN’s Connecting Africa, where he noted that his most lucrative product Mo Extra, a carbonated soft drink, sold over a billion bottles in 2022, which in his assessment is enough indication to begin eyeing the market share of some of the world’s foremost soda brands.

“I am setting up factories everywhere where Pepsi and Coca-Cola are, and I am hoping that the 1 billion bottles can reach 3 to 4 billion bottles in the next 24 to 36 months,” he said.

“All that I manufacture from the soaps, and edible oils to soft drinks are things that are needed on a daily basis and that is why I am placed to compete with global brands such as Proctor & Gamble and Unilever. In the colas, I am positioned to compete with giants such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

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You are talking of an economy of about $70 billion dollars, now when you are talking of revenue of about $2.5 billion then you cannot be in one business and that is why I am in over 150 different product lines,” he added.

Popularly known as Mo Dewji in East Africa, Mohammed Dewji’s business acumen has led him to establish one of East Africa’s most prominent business empires. With operations in Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique, and Zambia, this African billionaire boasts one of the most extensive and diverse business portfolios in the region, dealing in products that range from sodas to fertilizers to insurance.

Dewji, who runs some of the biggest sisal firms in the world, claimed that Africans now have enough money on hand to buy the goods his companies make.

Mohammed Dewji is the CEO of METL, a Tanzanian company created in the 70s by his father. In eastern, southern, and central Africa, METL produces textiles and mills grains, and produces drinks and edible oils.

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According to the most recent Forbes Magazine, Mo Dewji has risen from 15th to 13th place on the Forbes list of Africa's wealthiest individuals.

His influence in East Africa is nothing to scoff at as his businesses have created approximately 7,000 new jobs, bringing the total number of jobs to 35,000 last year from 28,000 in 2021. This is according to information released by his office.

His acumen, which has propelled him to his current position, stems from his early experience conducting business in countries such as China, Thailand, Egypt, and the United States. Of course, this is preceded by studies in finance, international business, and religion at Georgetown University in the United States.

Dewji began working formally after graduating from Georgetown University. Despite the fact that it was a family business, he began at the bottom and has since been on an upward trajectory.

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**This post forms part of the Africa Collective initiative, for which Business Insider Africa is the lead media partner. Learn more about the initiative here.

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