Said Salim Bakhresa
Born1949 (age 74–75)
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Occupation(s)Businessman, Philanthropist
Known forOperating numerous business ventures under Bakhresa Group
SpouseFathiya Bakhresa
Children
  • Mohamed Said Salim Bakhresa
  • Omar Said Salim Bakhresa
  • Abubakar Said Salim Bakhresa
  • Mariam Said Salim Bakhresa
  • Yusuf Said Salim Bakhresa
  • Khalid Said Salim Bakhresa (deceased 2007)

Said Salim Awadh Bakhresa (born 1949 in Zanzibar), is a Tanzanian business tycoon.

He is the founder and the chairperson of the Bakhresa Group of companies. He is a well-known industrialist in the mainland of Tanzania and the island of Zanzibar. With a humble beginning as a small restaurateur in the seventies, he created the business empire within a span of three decades. At the age of 14, he dropped out of school to become a potato mix salesperson and would later go on to become a successful African businessman.[1] Bakhresa Group; is a conglomerate of various companies and is the largest milling company in East Africa with operations in Tanzania and five other countries.[2]

Career

After getting into the potato mix industry, Bakhresa got involved as a restaurant operator in the 1970s and then went into grain milling.[1][3] Even today, the main products from Bakhresa's company comes from the Kipawa Flour Mill where various rice and grain products are being processed.[4] The neighboring country of Rwanda is dependent on Bakhresa's mill to provide 120,000 tons of wheat flour per year; which is expected to ease pressure of food prices in a country which approximately 52% of households don't have an adequate level of food security.[5] This is a major concern according to the World Bank's Country Assistance Strategy.[5] Bakhresa's projects in Rwanda are also expected to create jobs and help to increase national corporate tax revenues.[5]

His group employs more than 2000 people and is Tanzania's largest conglomerate.[1] Other specialties produced through Bakhresa's conglomerate includes: confectioneries, frozen foods, various kinds of drinks, and packaging.[1] The Azam brand is Bakhresa's most successful chocolate and ice cream manufacturer in Tanzania.[1] While the company is managed by his sons, Bakhresa owns the company itself.[1] Its daily capacity for manufacturing is 2100 metric tons and made sales of $800 million in 2011.[1] Bakhresa's Azam Marine division is providing international tourists with quick ferry services as more people discover Tanzania.[6] In addition to Zanzibar, riders can also experience Lake Victoria and Mount Kilimanjaro.[6]

Bakhresa is helping to reduce the effects of malaria on his employees by preventing the spread of the disease at his workplaces.[7] As a result, Bakhresa's firm only spends about US$3400 a month for malaria medication as opposed to US$10000 per month to heal its sick workforce.[7] They stopped using Fansidar; a monotherapy drug in favor of more effective artemisinin-based therapies that utilizes polytherapy.[7] Other companies are united with the Bakhresa Group to stop malaria in their region.[7] Residents of Tanzania who work outside of Bakhresa's company have also benefitted from Bakhresa's crusade against malaria in Africa.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Said Salim Bakhresha career information at Forbes.com
  2. ↑ Millers gather in Tanzania at DavidMcKee.org
  3. ↑ Management information at Bakhresha Group
  4. ↑ Said Salim Bakhresa & Co. Ltd at 21Food.com
  5. 1 2 3 Multilateral Invested Guarantee Agency for Bakhresa Grain Milling (Rwanda) Limited at MIGA.org
  6. 1 2 Azam Marine - Sea Bus Fast Ferries Profile Archived 2012-01-14 at the Wayback Machine at Azam Marine
  7. 1 2 3 4 Malaria prevention at Said Salim Bakhresa improves employee health, cuts company malaria-related costs by two-thirds at rbm.who.int
  8. ↑ Advocacy for a Malaria Free Future at MalariaFreeFuture.org
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