Business Leader Phil Libin, Evernote CEO could not have put it better:
“There’s lots of bad reasons to start a company. But there’s only one good, legitimate reason, and I think you know what it is: it’s to change the world.”
Ashish J. Thakkar is only 30, but in less than two decades, the Ugandan-born maverick entrepreneur has accomplished what only few attain in their lifetime. Thakkar began his entrepreneurial journey over 15 years ago as a high school student in Uganda where he sold computers to his schoolmates and friends. That small trading operation snowballed into the Mara Group, a diversified conglomerate with approximately $100 million in revenues, according to Thakkar. Mara has tentacles in everything from Real Estate and tourism to financial services, information and communications technology, renewable energy and manufacturing. The group’s operations span 16 countries in four continents, including Asia. And lest you forget, he didn’t inherit anything; he built it all from scratch.
When he was recently interviewed by Forbes Africa Magazine, his response was inspiring:
“My biggest driver is to see Africa prosper and compete aggressively on a global scale. I am very passionate about this and firmly believe that the Indian Tiger and the Chinese Dragon have had their days and it is now time for the African Lion! Mara Group proudly wears the logo of the African Lion to symbolize Africa’s coming of age and we champion this cause in any way we can”.
He continues by stating what the Mara Group does to uplift the communities in which it does business.
“I believe it is imperative for businesses to give back to their communities. I have taken my greatest lessons in business and created the Mara Foundation to help early stage entrepreneurs. We are very proud of the work we do through the Foundation which is helping to tackle problems in education and providing much needed support to young entrepreneurs at the start of their journey. Mara Foundation provides three different types of support. The first is the Entrepreneur Launchpad, a business mentorship program which connects emerging entrepreneurs with top business leaders who have volunteered to provide mentorship for six months. This project has mentored around 120 small businesses in East Africa so far. The second is Mara Launchpad, the Base for Growing Businesses, an innovation and enterprise center for young businesses, where entrepreneurs pay an affordable fee to access a professional office space and a community of like-minded individuals. This provides visibility and credibility which enables them to grow. The third element is the Mara Launch Uganda Fund, which offers venture capital to startups and growth-stage companies in Uganda to start with. Our vision is to copy and paste these initiatives in other African countries too.”
Lev Leview, Israeli business magnate, billionaire and philanthropist has made a name for his flamboyant and aggressive charitable giving to communities. Levi has donated more money to charity, both in sum, total and in percentage amount, than most of the other wealthiest people in the world. His business, according to him, is to make money but he does so in order to serve GOD better. But God does not ask that more than a 10 or 20 percent commission be paid to charity. Now, that is what we call Spiritual Entrepreneurship! None other could suffice. Levi has however done this exemplary gesture for years. The net effect is that he has been blessed with riches because he is a responsible steward of that blessing.
The interesting thing about Levi is that unlike most successful entrepreneurs, he started giving back to God and country at an early stage. He began to give away his fortune, His goals were to tithe 10 percent of his income every year, but he soon found himself giving far more than that. Some years, it was 20 percent. Other years it was 30%. He founded Jewish day schools in the former Soviet states. His latest goal according to sources is to provide a free Jewish education for any American Jewish child who wants one. Nathan Sharansky made a startling remark about him, “I know a lot of rich people who give money.
But Leview is on a completely different level. He’s building entire communities”. Come to think of it, as a teenager, he arrived in Israel with literally the rags on his back. He and his family escaped the Soviet region of Bukahara and reached Isreal in 1971. He had ventured into the Diamond trading business after an attempt at rabbinical studies. The rest they say is history! Spirituality matters! Being spiritual as an entrepreneur increases your chances of success.
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