Business

Financial services

International trading

Mining

Manufacturing

Transport and logistics

Year of birth

1960

 

Websites

www.mmawere.com

www.ahinvestments.co.za

www.africaheritage.com

 

Mutumwa Mawere was educated in Zimbabwe, Swaziland, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA). He holds Masters Degrees and several other professional qualifications and is currently based in South Africa.

His early career included a stint as a Research Economist with the International Development Corporation of Zimbabwe in 1984. He has also worked for the World Bank, starting as a Young Professional up until he became Senior Investment Officer for the private sector lending partner of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Mutumwa’s business career kicked off in 1995 when he founded Africa Resources Limited (ARL), an investment holding company in which he was the sole shareholder. That same year, he approached T & N, the UK parent company of Shabanie & Mashaba Mines. The company owned asbestos mines, two industrial companies in Zimbabwe and a manufacturing company in Zambia. In 1996, ARL acquired some of the mining and industrial assets of T & N in Zambia and Zimbabwe and grew substantially since then. With operations in Zambia, South Africa, Namibia and Malawi, the company employed 20 000 people and had a turnover of US$400 million. Over the years, ARL acquired and established many other companies which include Firstel Cellular Zimbabwe, Turnall Fibre Cement, Tube and Pipe Industries, FBC Bank, Suncrest, among others. Unfortunately, government nationalised the whole ARL Group in 2004. Legal battle still rages on in Zambia, South Africa and the UK because of this.

But, Mutumwa Mawere was not deterred. He has gone on to found AHI, a South African registered investment holding company operating along almost the same lines as ARL. AHI has interests in manufacturing, supply chain and logistics. It owns a 52% stake in Tractionel Enterprises (an infrastructural services company) and a 75% shareholding in Cade Transport which Investec Bank also has an interest in. On the philanthropic front, Mr Mawere is one of the founders of African Heritage, a not for profit organisation in South Africa. His empire continues to grow and spread.