TANZANIA - Building Prosperity
A TRIBUTE TO DR REGINALD MENGI (1944-2019)
I Can, I Will, I Must A businessman, industrialist and selfless philanthropist, Dr Mengi was a man with amazing brilliance. He was simply an extraordinary statesman and a patriot who embodied so much that is best within Tanzania. It goes without saying, Dr Mengi’s legacy will extend far beyond the businesses he built, the millions of people he inspired, the lives he changed and the culture he defined. Despite all his accomplishments, it feels like he was just getting started. Tanzania has lost a rare gem. Making his way out of poverty in Tanzania by winning a scholarship to an accounting college in Glasgow, Scotland, Mengi was one of the most revered figures in East African business circles. Born in 1944 in Kilimanjaro to extremely impoverished parents, he rose above arduous circumstances and overcame early adversity to become one of Tanzania’s most accomplished and wealthiest businessmen. He was the founder of the IPP Group, a Tanzanian conglomerate that bottles Coca-Cola and manufactures the bestselling ‘Kilimanjaro’ water brand in the country. His group is also involved in mining, real estate and manufacturing of consumer goods. Mengi was perhaps best known for owning one of the largest and most influential media companies
in Africa. His media group, IPP media, owned several newspapers, television and radio stations in Tanzania. In all, the IPP group employs more than 5,000 people, and was one of the largest corporate taxpayers in Tanzania. Last July, Mengi published his autobiography, “I Can, I Must, I Will – The Spirit of Success,” to regional acclaim. During the official unveiling of the book, President John Magufuli had acknowledged Mengi as one of Tanzania’s most illustrious capitalists and humanitarians. “One of the things that Mengi has showed us with his life is that it is possible to rise above one’s circumstances if one is willing to pay the price. There is no shortcut to success. Mengi’s story is a wake up call to young Africans to work hard and persevere despite of the odds.” Dr. Mengi was also one of Tanzania’s most prominent philanthropists. Every year, he gave away millions of dollars to Tanzanian educational, medical and religious institutions. Mengi also founded the Rodney Mutie Foundation, a charity that paid for dozens of Tanzanian children with complicated heart ailments to travel for surgeries in India and the United States. Even in old age, Mengi was still building new businesses. Last November, his IPP Group entered into a partnership with the Youngsan Glonet Corporation of South Korea to establish a vehicle assembly plant in Dar es Salaam. In the same month, he also partnered with Touchmate, a computer products manufacturing company based in Dubai, to establish a smartphone manufacturing plant in Tanzania. IPP was also establishing the first Stem Cell Research and Therapy center in Tanzania, just before he died. Dr. Mengi passed away on May 2, 2019. We should remember him for many things; we should remember him for his development contributions to the nation and vision of his book. He wrote his book at an opportune time when Africa is casting a new vision that is guided largely by the power of entrepreneurship. If the majority of us can follow Dr. Mengi’s footprints, we can all build a brighter future for our nations and people. May God rest Dr. Reginald Mengi’s soul in eternal peace and may his spirit continue to inspire others that they can, they must and they will succeed.
“You can change your life if you truly believe you can be what you want to be.” 38 | FORBES AFRICA JULY 2019