Dar es Salaam – Rostam Azizi, Tanzania’s pioneering dollar billionaire, continues to redefine regional business with his latest coup: acquiring Nation Media Group’s (NMG) controlling stake from the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED).
“We are honoured and deeply committed to becoming the majority shareholder of Nation Media Group,”
“NMG is an institution of profound importance to East Africa, and we will uphold its editorial independence while investing in its continued success as the region’s leading independent media organisation,” Azizi said.
At 66, the self-made magnate—dubbed East Africa’s sole billionaire by Henley & Partners’ 2022 wealth report—now eyes media dominance after conquering telecoms, energy, and beyond.
Born August 21, 1961, in Dodoma to a fifth-generation Persian-Tanzanian trading family.
They settled in Tanganika after transiting in Zanzibar 150 years ago. The family began farming sisal, rice etc.
Today the Aziz family is among the most prominent business families in East Africa.
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The family is engaged in everything from telecom, ports, agriculture, media, and contract mining.
Azizi honed his acumen early. After schooling in Tanzania, he earned a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Exeter.
Politics beckoned in 1994, propelling him as a Member of Parliament for Igunga until 2011 under Chama Cha Mapinduzi.
Yet business was his true calling; Forbes crowned him Tanzania’s first billionaire in 2013 with a $1 billion+ fortune from telecom investments.
Azizi’s breakout came from facilitating Vodacom South Africa’s Tanzania entry, amassing a 35% stake.
He divested strategically: $250 million for 17% in 2014 via Cavalry Holdings, then $220 million for the rest in 2019—nearly $500 million total.
Undeterred, he pivoted to energy with Taifa Gas, East Africa’s largest LPG supplier.
Its Mombasa Dongo Kundu plant, commissioned by President Ruto in 2023, eyes Africa’s biggest terminal amid Kenya court wins.
The business empire
Aviation via Taifa Aviation’s Coastal Travels stake, mining with Caspian Mining, real estate in Tanzania/Dubai/Oman, agriculture, and construction round out his empire, managed by Dubai’s Selous LLC.
Media roots trace to co-founding Mwananchi Communications—titles like The Citizen later acquired by NMG—making his Taarifa Ltd takeover poetic.
Married with three children, Azizi shuns publicity yet funds education philanthropically.
His cross-border deals—from Axian Group telecom buys to gas expansions—signal pan-East African ambition.