Ashish J. Thakkar
| Ashish J. Thakkar | |
|---|---|
| Born |
5 August 1981 Leicester, United Kingdom |
| Residence | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Nationality | BritishUgandan |
| Occupation | Founder, Mara Group |
| Years active | 1996 - present |
| Organization | Mara Foundation |
| Known for |
|
| Parent(s) | Jagdish Thakkar |
| Awards | Middle East Man of the Year at the Esquire Magazine Awards 2016, Base Leadership Award at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2014 |
| Website | http://www.AshishJThakkar.com |
Ashish J. Thakkar (Arabic: أشيش تاكر) is a fourth generation Indian and an entrepreneur. He is the founder of Mara Group and Mara Foundation, and he is a co-founder of Atlas Mara. Thakkar was born in the United Kingdom, but he moved to East Africa as a teenager before founding Mara Group, a Pan-African conglomerate, at the age of 15.Mara Group's operations and investments span 22 African countries. He is the author of The Lion Awakes: Adventures in Africa's Economic Miracle.
Thakkar is a member of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders,and was featured on Fortune Magazine's list of the top "40 Under 40" in 2013. He was awarded the Base Leadership Award at the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards event. and Esquire Magazine names Ashish Thakkar Middle East Man of the Year in 2016.
In 2015, Thakkar appointed Chair of the United Nations Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council.
Thakkar’s family emigrated from the Indian state of Gujarat to Africa in the 1890s. Thakkar, however, was born in Leicester in 1981, after his parents had moved to the United Kingdom in 1972 when Idi Amin enforced the expulsion of Asians from Uganda. Thakkar and his family returned to Africa to live in Rwanda before they were again forced to leave due to the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. The Thakkar family then fled to Burundi before settling in Uganda as refugees. At 15 years old, Thakkar dropped out of school to start his own business with a $5,000 loan.
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