One of Africa’s most renowned business leaders and Tanzanian author Ali Mufuruki has passed away in a hospital in South Africa. He was 60. Mr Mufuruki was rushed to the Aga Khan hospital in Dar es Salaam after a short illness and was later flown out to South Africa for medical treatment, where he died.
Confirming his demise, Chairman of the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania (CEOrt), Sanjay Rughani said Mr Mufuruki passed away at the MountainSide Hospital in Johannesburg. “Dear board members: This is news I would never have wanted to break to you but our dear friend Ali Mufuruki passed on last night at Morningside Hospital, Johannesburg in South Africa,” he announced.
Before his death, Mr Mufuruki was the Chairman of Infotech Investment Group. He founded the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania (CEOrt) and the Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI) for East Africa. An influential businessman and author, he served as the Board Chairman of Tanzania’s leading telecommunications network Vodacom, as well as East Africa’s leading home entertainment operator, Wananchi Group Holdings.
He was formerly the chairman of Mwananchi Communications Limited, a subsidiary of the Nation Media Group, and also served as a trustee of the Mandela Institute for Development Studies. He was one of Tanzania’s richest men, with an estimated net-worth of US$110 million.
A mentor and philanthropist, Mr Mufuruki was also a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute Class of 2001. He co-authored \”Tanzania’s Industrialisation Journey, 2016-2056,\” a book that traces and chronicles the evolution of Tanzania’s economy from an agrarian to a modern industrialized one. He delivered several speeches and lectures across the world, most notable of which is his Ted Talk address “Is Africa Really Rising?”
Watch his Ted Talk below:
