Alexander Amosu & Sim Shagaya of Konga arelisted by Forbes as Young Millionaires to Watch Out For
The young Africans who may be giving Aliko Dangote a
run for his money in the not so distant future, are getting
the limelight.
Forbes has listed the 10 Young African Millionaires to
Watch Out for and it includes two Nigerians.
Luxury designer Alexander Amosu, 38, who made
headlines last year for helping create the world's most
expensive champagne, as well as Sim Shagaya, 38, the
creative head of one of Nigeria's leading shopping websites
– Konga.
Read their short profiles;
Alexander Amosu
Alexander Amosu is Africa's foremost high-end luxury
designer. He is the founder of Amosu Couture, a company
that custom-designs and sells diamond-encrusted mobile
phones, iPads, headphones and other accessories. Amosu
made his first million at age 24 by informally selling ring-
tones to mobile phone subscribers in the United Kingdom.
Buoyed by the success of this venture, he founded RnB
ringtones, a company which grossed over $1.5 million in its
first year of operations. He sold the company in 2004 for $
15 million to a British mobile value added services provider
and used the funds to setup Amosu Couture. His wholly-
owned Kamson Luxury Group publishes the Nigerian
edition of British celebrity magazine, Ok!
Sim Shagaya
The Harvard MBA and serial entrepreneur is the founder is
Konga.com, Nigeria's largest e-commerce company. Konga,
which Shagaya founded in July 2012, has raised more than $
38 million from investors such as Kinnevik and South
African media giant, Naspers . Prior to founding Konga,
Shagaya founded Dealdey, Nigeria's leading group-buying e-
commerce site, and E-Motion, an outdoor advertising
company.
See the full list...These ten represent the entrepreneurial best of Africa's
young, teeming population. You should watch them closely:
Ally Edha Awadh, Tanzania
Age: 32
Source: Energy distribution & transportation
Tanzanian oil trader Ally Edha Awadh is the founder and
CEO of Lake Oil Group, one of East Africa's fastest-growing
energy trading and transportation conglomerates. Awadh
founded the company in 2006 at age 23, when he received a
highly coveted license from the Tanzanian government to
import and market petroleum products in the domestic
market. Success has been swift for Awadh. Lake Oil Group
is now one of the 5 largest distributors of petroleum
products in Tanzania and exports to neighboring countries
including D.R.Congo, Zambia, Burundi and Rwanda. The
company also has a 35 million-liter storage depot at
Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam and another depot in Mbeya, a
commercial city in the country's southwest region. The
transport/haulage arm of the company, Lake Trans, owns
and operates close to 500 trucks and serves as a regional
contractor for commodities giants like Trafigura and
Augusta. Lake Oil Group's revenues for 2013 were $600
million. (Awadh recently granted me an interview in Dar es
Salaam and I'll be writing a detailed story on him in the near
future).
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu
Alexander Amosu, Nigeria
Age: 38
Source: Luxury Accessories
Alexander Amosu is Africa's foremost high-end luxury
designer. He is the founder of Amosu Couture, a company
that custom-designs and sells diamond-encrusted mobile
phones, iPads, headphones and other accessories. Amosu
made his first million at age 24 by informally selling ring-
tones to mobile phone subscribers in the United Kingdom.
Buoyed by the success of this venture, he founded RnB
ringtones, a company which grossed over $1.5 million in its
first year of operations. He sold the company in 2004 for $
15 million to a British mobile value added services provider
and used the funds to setup Amosu Couture. His wholly-
owned Kamson Luxury Group publishes the Nigerian
edition of British celebrity magazine, Ok!
Mohammed Dewji, Tanzania
Age: 39
Source: Manufacturing
Mohammed Dewji is the CEO of METL Group, one of the
largest industrial conglomerates in East Africa. Dewji's
father, Gulam Dewji founded the company as a trading
concern about three decades ago, but 'Mo' as he is
popularly known, is widely credited with transforming the
company into a manufacturing behemoth in Tanzania.
Subsidiaries under the METL group manufacture everything
from textiles, soap and edible oils to bicycles and fizzy cola
drinks. The company has an annual turnover of more than $
1.5 billion and employs over 24,000 employees. Mo Dewji,
who FORBES ranks as the 38th richest person in Africa with
a fortune estimated at $500 million, owns 50% of the
company. In July, the young multi-millionaire mogul will
officially launch his Mo Dewji Foundation which supports
initiatives in healthcare delivery and education for
Tanzania's poor.
Sim Shagaya, Nigeria
Age: 38
Source: E-Commerce
The Harvard MBA and serial entrepreneur is the founder is
Konga.com, Nigeria's largest e-commerce company. Konga,
which Shagaya founded in July 2012, has raised more than $
38 million from investors such as Kinnevik and South
African media giant, Naspers. Prior to founding Konga,
Shagaya founded Dealdey, Nigeria's leading group-buying e-
commerce site, and E-Motion, an outdoor advertising
company.
Dennis Makori, Kenya
Age: 34
Source: Telecom Services
Dennis Makori is the founder of Onfon Media, one of the
most successful value added telecoms service providers in
Kenya. Onfon, which Makori founded in 2007, develops
voice and data applications for mobile devices. The
company has more than 60 employees, operations in Kenya,
Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana and annual revenues of $3
million.
Adii Pienaar, South Africa
Age: 29
Source: WordPress Themes
Pienaar's company, Woothemes, designs and develops
customizable commercial themes and plugins for
WordPress. The company, which Adii founded in 2007 with
a bootstrap budget, generates over $3 million in annual
revenues from the sale of its themes. Woothemes also
develops and sells themes for other content management
systems, including Tumblr. He is also the founder of
PublicBeta, a service that allows very successful
entrepreneurs to transfer knowledge to new startups.
Colin Thornton, South Africa
Age: 34
Source: Computer Services
Thornton is the founder of Dial-A-Nerd, a company that
provides computer support services to homes and
businesses. Thornton founded the company in 1998 after
dropping out of an undergraduate program in Computer
Science at the University of Witwatersrand. The company
now has annual revenues of more than $10 million, 14
branches across South Africa and a workforce of 150
people.
Mike Macharia, Kenyan
Age: 36
Source: Seven Seas Technologies
Macharia's company, Seven Seas Technology, which he
founded more than a decade ago, is a leading East African
provider of integrated business and technology solutions
for institutional clients in the telecom, financial, Real Estate,
service industry and government sectors. Annual revenues
exceed $50 million and the company is gearing up for a
listing on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Private equity firm
Abraaj Capital is an equity investor in the company.
Ken Njoroge, Kenya
Age: 38
Source: Mobile technology
In 2004, Ken Njoroge and his Nigerian partner, Goke
Akinboro founded Cellulant, a $120 million (revenues)
mobile commerce company that manages, delivers and bills
for content and commerce services over mobile networks in
Africa. Its clients are spread across 8 African countries and
include clients like MTN, Standard Chartered bank and
Barclays. Velocity Capital, a Dutch-based private equity firm
is an investor in the company.
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, Ethiopia
Age: 34
Source: Shoes
The Ethiopian-born entrepreneur is the founder of
SoleRebels, a successful eco-sensitive footwear brand.
SoleRebels produces sandals, slip-ons and lace-up shoes
that are hand-crafted from recycled tires. All SoleRebel
shoes are redesigns and reimaginations of the famous
Selate and Barabasso shoe, a traditional recycled tire sole
shoe which has been worn by Ethiopians for a very long
time. Alemu founded the company in 2004. It now has close
to 100 employees and $5 million in revenue.
run for his money in the not so distant future, are getting
the limelight.
Forbes has listed the 10 Young African Millionaires to
Watch Out for and it includes two Nigerians.
Luxury designer Alexander Amosu, 38, who made
headlines last year for helping create the world's most
expensive champagne, as well as Sim Shagaya, 38, the
creative head of one of Nigeria's leading shopping websites
– Konga.
Read their short profiles;
Alexander Amosu
Alexander Amosu is Africa's foremost high-end luxury
designer. He is the founder of Amosu Couture, a company
that custom-designs and sells diamond-encrusted mobile
phones, iPads, headphones and other accessories. Amosu
made his first million at age 24 by informally selling ring-
tones to mobile phone subscribers in the United Kingdom.
Buoyed by the success of this venture, he founded RnB
ringtones, a company which grossed over $1.5 million in its
first year of operations. He sold the company in 2004 for $
15 million to a British mobile value added services provider
and used the funds to setup Amosu Couture. His wholly-
owned Kamson Luxury Group publishes the Nigerian
edition of British celebrity magazine, Ok!
Sim Shagaya
The Harvard MBA and serial entrepreneur is the founder is
Konga.com, Nigeria's largest e-commerce company. Konga,
which Shagaya founded in July 2012, has raised more than $
38 million from investors such as Kinnevik and South
African media giant, Naspers . Prior to founding Konga,
Shagaya founded Dealdey, Nigeria's leading group-buying e-
commerce site, and E-Motion, an outdoor advertising
company.
See the full list...These ten represent the entrepreneurial best of Africa's
young, teeming population. You should watch them closely:
Ally Edha Awadh, Tanzania
Age: 32
Source: Energy distribution & transportation
Tanzanian oil trader Ally Edha Awadh is the founder and
CEO of Lake Oil Group, one of East Africa's fastest-growing
energy trading and transportation conglomerates. Awadh
founded the company in 2006 at age 23, when he received a
highly coveted license from the Tanzanian government to
import and market petroleum products in the domestic
market. Success has been swift for Awadh. Lake Oil Group
is now one of the 5 largest distributors of petroleum
products in Tanzania and exports to neighboring countries
including D.R.Congo, Zambia, Burundi and Rwanda. The
company also has a 35 million-liter storage depot at
Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam and another depot in Mbeya, a
commercial city in the country's southwest region. The
transport/haulage arm of the company, Lake Trans, owns
and operates close to 500 trucks and serves as a regional
contractor for commodities giants like Trafigura and
Augusta. Lake Oil Group's revenues for 2013 were $600
million. (Awadh recently granted me an interview in Dar es
Salaam and I'll be writing a detailed story on him in the near
future).
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu
Alexander Amosu, Nigeria
Age: 38
Source: Luxury Accessories
Alexander Amosu is Africa's foremost high-end luxury
designer. He is the founder of Amosu Couture, a company
that custom-designs and sells diamond-encrusted mobile
phones, iPads, headphones and other accessories. Amosu
made his first million at age 24 by informally selling ring-
tones to mobile phone subscribers in the United Kingdom.
Buoyed by the success of this venture, he founded RnB
ringtones, a company which grossed over $1.5 million in its
first year of operations. He sold the company in 2004 for $
15 million to a British mobile value added services provider
and used the funds to setup Amosu Couture. His wholly-
owned Kamson Luxury Group publishes the Nigerian
edition of British celebrity magazine, Ok!
Mohammed Dewji, Tanzania
Age: 39
Source: Manufacturing
Mohammed Dewji is the CEO of METL Group, one of the
largest industrial conglomerates in East Africa. Dewji's
father, Gulam Dewji founded the company as a trading
concern about three decades ago, but 'Mo' as he is
popularly known, is widely credited with transforming the
company into a manufacturing behemoth in Tanzania.
Subsidiaries under the METL group manufacture everything
from textiles, soap and edible oils to bicycles and fizzy cola
drinks. The company has an annual turnover of more than $
1.5 billion and employs over 24,000 employees. Mo Dewji,
who FORBES ranks as the 38th richest person in Africa with
a fortune estimated at $500 million, owns 50% of the
company. In July, the young multi-millionaire mogul will
officially launch his Mo Dewji Foundation which supports
initiatives in healthcare delivery and education for
Tanzania's poor.
Sim Shagaya, Nigeria
Age: 38
Source: E-Commerce
The Harvard MBA and serial entrepreneur is the founder is
Konga.com, Nigeria's largest e-commerce company. Konga,
which Shagaya founded in July 2012, has raised more than $
38 million from investors such as Kinnevik and South
African media giant, Naspers. Prior to founding Konga,
Shagaya founded Dealdey, Nigeria's leading group-buying e-
commerce site, and E-Motion, an outdoor advertising
company.
Dennis Makori, Kenya
Age: 34
Source: Telecom Services
Dennis Makori is the founder of Onfon Media, one of the
most successful value added telecoms service providers in
Kenya. Onfon, which Makori founded in 2007, develops
voice and data applications for mobile devices. The
company has more than 60 employees, operations in Kenya,
Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana and annual revenues of $3
million.
Adii Pienaar, South Africa
Age: 29
Source: WordPress Themes
Pienaar's company, Woothemes, designs and develops
customizable commercial themes and plugins for
WordPress. The company, which Adii founded in 2007 with
a bootstrap budget, generates over $3 million in annual
revenues from the sale of its themes. Woothemes also
develops and sells themes for other content management
systems, including Tumblr. He is also the founder of
PublicBeta, a service that allows very successful
entrepreneurs to transfer knowledge to new startups.
Colin Thornton, South Africa
Age: 34
Source: Computer Services
Thornton is the founder of Dial-A-Nerd, a company that
provides computer support services to homes and
businesses. Thornton founded the company in 1998 after
dropping out of an undergraduate program in Computer
Science at the University of Witwatersrand. The company
now has annual revenues of more than $10 million, 14
branches across South Africa and a workforce of 150
people.
Mike Macharia, Kenyan
Age: 36
Source: Seven Seas Technologies
Macharia's company, Seven Seas Technology, which he
founded more than a decade ago, is a leading East African
provider of integrated business and technology solutions
for institutional clients in the telecom, financial, Real Estate,
service industry and government sectors. Annual revenues
exceed $50 million and the company is gearing up for a
listing on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Private equity firm
Abraaj Capital is an equity investor in the company.
Ken Njoroge, Kenya
Age: 38
Source: Mobile technology
In 2004, Ken Njoroge and his Nigerian partner, Goke
Akinboro founded Cellulant, a $120 million (revenues)
mobile commerce company that manages, delivers and bills
for content and commerce services over mobile networks in
Africa. Its clients are spread across 8 African countries and
include clients like MTN, Standard Chartered bank and
Barclays. Velocity Capital, a Dutch-based private equity firm
is an investor in the company.
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, Ethiopia
Age: 34
Source: Shoes
The Ethiopian-born entrepreneur is the founder of
SoleRebels, a successful eco-sensitive footwear brand.
SoleRebels produces sandals, slip-ons and lace-up shoes
that are hand-crafted from recycled tires. All SoleRebel
shoes are redesigns and reimaginations of the famous
Selate and Barabasso shoe, a traditional recycled tire sole
shoe which has been worn by Ethiopians for a very long
time. Alemu founded the company in 2004. It now has close
to 100 employees and $5 million in revenue.
Comments
Post a Comment