This archive report was first published on 9 December 2019.
On December 7, 2019, Africa lost one of its most respected business leaders, Ali Mufuruki, who died at Morningside Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. In a message to the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania's members, Chairman Sanjay Rughani wrote, “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...,”
Mufuruki, who was one of Tanzania's richest men with an estimated net worth of $110 million, had fallen ill while in Dar es Salaam and was rushed to The Aga Khan Hospital. He was then evacuated to South Africa on Saturday afternoon.
As a successful entrepreneur, Mufuruki founded the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania (CEOrt) and Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI) East Africa. He also served as the board chairman of Vodacom Tanzania and Wananchi Group Holdings, and was a trustee of the Mandela Institute for Development Studies. Additionally, he co-authored the book Tanzania's Industrialisation Journey, 2016-2056.
With a strong commitment to philanthropy and mentorship, Mufuruki was a Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute Class of 2001. He previously served on the boards of the Tanzania Central Bank, Technoserve Inc of Washington, DC, and the Nation Media Group. Mufuruki graduated with a BSc in Mechanical Design Engineering from the Reutlingen University, Germany in 1986.
