Ashish Thakkar, Africa’s youngest billionaire, or “CEO and
founder of The Mara Group,” a globally renowned multi-sector investment
group — the first word is “refugee.”
34 year-old Thakkar is an Indian, but has lived in
Africa for four generations. Thakkar was 13 living in Rwanda when
the 1994 genocide forced his family to relocate to Uganda.
The family’s efforts to rebuild their lives inspired him to drop out
of school at 15 and begun an IT business, buying and selling computer
parts, eventually the business evolved into the Mara Group, a company
that spans the technology, banking, manufacturing and real estate
sectors.
Twenty years down the line after starting in a shopping mall in Kampala, Uganda’s
capital, Thakkar’s company now employs more than 11,000 people in 25
countries. He is the chairman of the United Nations Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council and founded the Mara Foundation
in 2009, which serves as an online mentorship portal for young African entrepreneurs.
There will be opportunities to cut corners and do things in a way
that will fast-track your growth. Don’t, because that never lasts. Do it
in the right way — have the right values, have the right ethics, have
the right morals and follow your dream.
Dream big — you’ve gotta
dream big. This is our time as young entrepreneurs around the world, so
absolutely dream big. But start small.
Source://www.risingafrica.org/success-stories/business/the-inspiring-journey-from-refugee-to-school-dropout-to-africas-youngest-billionaire/
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