Reginald Mengi: The Tycoon
Reginald Abraham Mengi, is a Tanzanian industrialist and media tycoon, a Lutheran member, and he is the founder and Executive Chairman of IPP Group, one of East Africa's largest privately owned companies, based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He was born in Machame, in the Kilimanjaro Region in a poor family though he grew up in the wealthy family of his elder brother Elitira Mengi who was already a rich man by 60. He is a chartered accountant by training and when he was in secondary school in the early '60s on holidays he used to work at TPC Limited at a salary of less than Tsh. 100 a month.
Before engaging in business he was serving as the Chairman and Managing Partner of Coopers & Lybrand in Tanzania. Reginald Mengi created the IPP business conglomerate in the mid-1980s. As a leading member of the business community Reginald Mengi has served as Chairman of Tanzania's National Board of Business Accountants and Auditors, of Tanzania's Chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and of the Tanzanian Chapter of the Commonwealth Press Union (PCU). He has also participated in several fora organized under the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), met with various African and Latin American leaders, and is a member of the Board of Management of the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) (Weekpedia).
In addition to his interests in business and industry, Reginald Mengi has been involved in a number of charities and other social activities, especially in the areas of health, environmental management, and poverty alleviation. He has been a leading advocate of involving the private sector in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, and was appointed member of Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS). During his term as a commissioner of TACAIDS, he sparked a nationwide debate over the use and distribution of condoms, giving him the nickname of "Mr. Condom" and putting him in confrontation with Christian leaders, after criticizing them for their position against the use of condoms as a central instrument in the fight against the propagation of HIV/AIDS.
In relation to his interests in environmental issues, he is Chairman of the National Environment Management Council (NEMC), the Poverty Alleviation and Environmental Committee (PAEC), patron of the LEAD Global Environmental Network in Tanzania and treasurer of Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) international. This non-governmental, non-profit organization established in 1991 by the Rockefeller Foundation, is committed to sustainable development and provides training for selected mid-career professionals from a variety of sectors in society. He has also been an important sponsor and benefactor of the Kilimanjaro Forestation Campaign and of several projects for youth employment and disabled people. Most recently, Reginald Mengi began building The Rodney Mutie Mengi Heart Institute in memory of his son who died on October 6, 2005 from heart complications. In the meantime he has begun sponsoring children in Tanzania with heart problems to travel abroad for treatment.
In recognition to his work, leadership and contributions in a wide range of business and social activities Reginald Mengi has been awarded the Order of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Order of the Arusha Declaration of the First Class for his exemplary contribution to Tanzania's Development, The East African Environment Leadership Award, and the Environmentalist of the Century Award 2000 in the Kilimanjaro region. Apart from the mentioned award Mengi also holds the following facts:
- Mengi was twice nominated the second most respected Chief Executive Officer in East Africa by PricewaterhouseCoopers (in 2001 and 2002).
- Mengi was given Martin Luther King Jr.award in 2008 by the USA Embassy in Tanzania.it was given to him by the US ambassador Mr. Mark Green, due to his large contribution in human right and environment protection.
