IPP Group: An empire built in Mengi’s house

Reginald Mengi, 75. Courtesy photo

What you need to know:

  • First million dollar. Before, quitting PwC, Reginald Mengi founded a ballpoint pens assembly business in his house, which within a year earned him his first million dollar.

Dar el salaam. Reginald Mengi, 75, nurtured ambitions of becoming a chartered accountant from his early years in secondary school.

In in his book; I can, I must, I will: The Spirit of Success published last year, he recounts that the idea of becoming an accountant started after he overheard a conversation about accomplishments of an accountant who worked with a diamond mining firm.
Mengi died yesterday in Dubai where he had gone for treatment.

“The description of the profession sounded like the best in the world and to me it seemed attainable because of my aptitude and love for Mathematics,” Mengi writes in the book.
So, when a month after Mengi entered Form Six in Old Moshi Secondary School, the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union advertised a scholarship for a six month course for an accounts clerk in Scotland, which put the young student in a real dilemma.

“Naturally, I knew that being an accounts clerk was below my ambition and potential… [since I knew] that upon my completion of A’ Level studies I would definitely have made it to the celebrated Makerere College in Uganda for an Economics Degree,” he writes.
Yet, he recounts, “The idea of going abroad was thrilling and exciting for me and I guess for any young Tanganyikan at that time”.

However, as noted earlier, there was a dark spot because Mengi’s performance had been noted by the headmaster, Mr Mundi, who was already talking him into thinking of going to Makerere College in Uganda to pursue a degree once he had completed A’ Level.

Fearful that the Headmaster and his family would not approve of his plans to quit school and go abroad, Mengi “quickly and discreetly applied for the scholarship.” A few days prior to his departure, he ran away from the school and moved into a hostel, paid for by a family friend.

He thought he was really hiding, waiting for his departure till his elder brother, Elitira, appeared in the hiding place ordering him to disclose his plans and get blessings of both the Headmaster and family.
“This I did and to my surprise, I was forgiven and offered their blessings for what I was venturing into,” Mengi writes in the book.

Journey to Scotland
When he arrived in Scotland at the Scottish College of Commerce, which later became University of Strathclyde, he decided against enrolling at the six-month course because it was below his ambitions to become a chartered accountant.
But to study accounting, he had to have completed Form Six, so he enrolled at an evening class programme for A’ Level that demanded that he had to find some part time jobs to raise money to fund his studies and for upkeep.

“I went through a very taxing period having to juggle with working very long hours at part time jobs, being short of money and coping with the pressure of evening studies,” Mengi writes in the book.
But he eventually finished his studies and pursed his dream course to become a chartered accountant.
He returned to Tanzania in 1971 and joined the Cooper Brothers, which later became PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Before, quitting PwC, he had founded a ballpoint pens assembly business in his house, which within a year earned him his first million dollar. And that was the start of his business empire, he recounts in his book.
The IPP Group executive chairman, ranked one of Tanzania’s wealthiest person died 75 years and has been widely eulogized.

In his tribute, President John Magufuli said: “I will remember him for his immense contribution to the development of our country and for the words he wrote in his book [I Can, I Will, I Must].”
Mengi’s death comes six months after the death of his ex-wife and IPP co-founder, Mercy Anna Mengi.
Mercy died on October 31, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she had been admitted.
The two had married on November 27, 1971 and were blessed with three children, Regina, Rodney and Abdiel.

Klynn - Mengi’s widow

After Mengi leaves behind a widow - Jaqueline Ntuyabaliwe aka Klynn who is 36 years younger.
Here are things to know about the couple.

Klynn quit music to become an interior designer
After her wedding to Mengi, the musician switched careers to become an interior designer starting her own company that designs furniture. In a past interview, she said she opted to do interiors so as to launch her entrepreneurial journey and add onto her husband’s earnings.

The couple has twins
Klynn and Mengi have twin boys born in 2013. In 2015, the couple held their lavish wedding in Mauritius.

Klynn at first snubbed Mengi
The musician, while on a tour in UK, snubbed an invite from the media mogul who was in UK on a business trip. The two later hooked up in Tanzania and started dating right away.

The couple’s worth $560m
Mengi’s empire in media includes IPP Media Group that owns 11 newspapers, radio and television stations and internet properties. The couple also own Bonite Bottlers, the sole bottler of Coca-Cola products in northern Tanzania, Kilimanjaro brand of bottled water and IPP Resources Company that mines gold, uranium, copper, chrome and coal.

Klynn influenced Mengi to become a gym enthusiast
The musician who is 36 years younger than her husband influenced him to start exercising after their marriage and the media mogul at one point acknowledged that she was a great influence in his life; “If God was to call us today, I would ask for permission, to see if it’s possible for me to marry her in heaven.”
Source: Nairobi News