Many successful entrepreneurs have a difficult family background and live in poverty. For example, Ashish Thakkar, who several times had to face the horror of life and his family fled.
Cited by the BBC, Monday 17 March 2014, nobody thinks the current Thakkar, the founder, and boss of Mara Group, large companies in Africa.
At the age of 12 years, he was with his parents and younger brother had to evacuate due to the genocide (ethnic extermination) in Rwanda in 1994. Along with other people, in a 1,200 atmosphere of fear, he took refuge in a hotel in the capital city of Rwanda. They get a flight out of the country.
"we could get out alive. However, my parents lost all possessions and objects, "said Thakkar who are aged 32 years.
For her parents, the incident became the second time they were forced to leave the place of residence. The first incident in 1972.
They are in between 50,000 people South Asian descent who asked to lift the foot from Uganda by General Idi Amin. Idi Amin that time applies the rule of foreigners who have become citizens of Uganda, to go from Uganda.
Her parents then start their new life in the United Kingdom where Thakkar was born and spent his childhood before moving to Uganda. Two years settled in Uganda brought the events of the genocide (ethnic extermination).
After fleeing from Rwanda, for the second time, Thakkar and her family settled in Uganda. They lived in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. While a teenager, Thakkar ventured to start businesses to help the economy of the family. He was born into the import business.
When he was 15 years old, he sold computer device to a friend of his family with a turnover of US $100. From there, he realized that it was easy to get the money; he bought and sold the devices the computer a second time.
His parents noticed his talent to trade his son, so letting Thakkar who took a loan of US $6,000. With that capital, Thakkar imported floppy and other computer products from Dubai.
The goods are difficult to be purchased in Uganda. Thakkar went to Dubai every weekend, and take back the goods as much as he could carry, and then sell them in Uganda. This is the beginning of the founding of the Mara Group.
Want to focus on developing his business, he later persuaded her parents to allow the out of school. He then expanded his business.
In addition, to keep importing IT hardware and sell it in Uganda, he opens an Office in Dubai and sells to companies throughout Africa. Since then, Mara Group continues to grow and increase. The business scope of Mara Group further expanded. From telecommunications infrastructure, hospitality, manufacturing and packaging, shopping and conference facilities, paper mills, up to agriculture.
Mara Group operates in 21 countries, the vast majority is in Africa, and uses over 8,000 employees.
Partnership strategy
Conscious with limited capital and expertise, the partnership strategy Thakkar in the development of its business.
System partnership he did was Mara Group would give you the experience of doing business while other parties will provide funds and expertise in a particular field.
The latest partnership example he did between Mara Group and Bob Diamond, Barclays Bank's former boss, United Kingdom. Last year, they joined to form an investment company called Atlas Mara. The company will invest in financial services companies throughout Africa.
The other thing she applies in developing his business i.e. learning from each other. Thakkar has the ambitious attitude in the pursuit of success. That pushed him to continue to expand its business. However, he always learns from the other party's business success.
For example, when the factory packaging hers has a production capacity of 30 tons of cardboard in a month, she then visited the factory and have similar production capacity 3,000 tons.
"It made me realize that plant I have just a drop in the ocean. It will encourage me to develop efforts to become even greater, "he said. He answered the desire and curiosity by learning from other people's efforts.
Thakkar claimed to have no regrets had left school at the age of 15 years and never get into the University.
He lives in Dubai where Mara Group has its headquarters. However, he said remains committed to helping Africa.
To help the next generation want to entrepreneurship, he founded social enterprise Foundation, Mara that provides other guidance and support to young people who want to start their own business.
Since 2009, more than 160,000 employees received guidance from the established business leaders. Most of them came from Uganda, Tanzania, and Nigeria.
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