Hassanein Hiridjee | |
|---|---|
 Hassanein Hiridjee in March 2023 | |
| Born | Antananarivo, Madagascar |
| Organization | Axian Group |
| Title | CEO |
Hassanein Hiridjee (born in 1975 in Antananarivo) is a French-Malagasy entrepreneur. He is the CEO of the panafrican group Axian and a leading figure in the Indian Ocean business world. [1] [2]
Hassanein Hiridjee comes from a Khoja (sometimes known as Lawati) family who settled in Madagascar. [1] He graduated from the Tananarive French Lycée in 1992. He then graduated from the ESCP Business School in Paris. [3]
In France, he held several positions in the financial sector before returning to Madagascar. In 1997, he joined the family business initially named Hirimix, founded by his uncles. [3] In December 2015, the company was renamed Axian. Axian is now active in the telecom, energy, real estate and financial services sectors globally. [4] Its expansion beyond Madagascar began in the Indian Ocean and then Africa more widely through forming a presence in Tanzania with the takeover of the operations of Tigo (Milicom SA), [5] [1] in Togo in entering TOGOCOM's capital, [6] in Senegal with a partnership with Xavier Niel, [7] and also in the Ivory Coast. [8]
In 2017, through Axian Group, he started a foundation called Fondation H which aims to promote the art and practice of African artists internationally. The Fondation H gallery in Marais, Paris has been open since September 2020. [9] [10] In May 2023, a new gallery was inaugurated in Antananarivo, Madagascar. [11] [12]
At the Africa CEO Forum 2022 organized by Jeune Afrique Media Group, he was named "CEO of the year". This award recognizes the CEO who has had the biggest impact in Africa over that year. [13]
Madagascar has diplomatic relations with many countries, both individual bilateral relations and by virtue of its membership of African and other regional blocs. International aid has been received from the IMF and the World Bank, and a national environmental plan supported by the World Bank and USAID began in 1990.
Antananarivo, also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra, is the capital of Analamanga region. The city sits at 1,280 m (4,199 ft) above sea level in the center of the island, the highest national capital by elevation among the island countries. It has been the country's largest population center since at least the 18th century. The presidency, National Assembly, Senate, and Supreme Court are located there, as are 21 diplomatic missions and the headquarters of many national and international businesses and NGOs. It has more universities, nightclubs, art venues, and medical services than any city on the island. Several national and local sports teams, including the championship-winning national rugby team, the Makis, are based here.
Marc Ravalomanana is a Malagasy politician who served as the sixth President of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. Born into a farming Merina family in Imerinkasinina, near the capital city of Antananarivo, Ravalomanana first rose to prominence as the founder and CEO of the vast dairy conglomerate TIKO, later launching successful wholesaler MAGRO and several additional companies.
Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, born Joseph-Casimir Rabearivelo, was a Malagasy poet who is widely considered to be Africa's first modern poet and the greatest literary artist of Madagascar. Part of the first Malagasy generation raised under French colonization, Rabearivelo grew up impoverished and failed to complete secondary education. His passion for French literature and traditional Malagasy oral poetry (hainteny) prompted him to read extensively and educate himself on a variety of subjects, including the French language and its poetic and prose traditions. He published his first poems as an adolescent in local literary reviews, soon obtaining employment at a publishing house where he worked as a proofreader and editor of its literary journals. He published numerous poetry anthologies in French and Malagasy as well as literary critiques, an opera, and two novels.
Jeune Afrique is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris by Jeune Afrique Media Group. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It offers coverage of African and international political, economic and cultural news. It is also a book publisher, under the imprint "Les Éditions du Jaguar".
The so-called 'Karana' are a racial group in Madagascar with a long history on the island. The Malagasy term mainly refers to Khoja families on the island who are generally perceived to control the economic affairs of the country due to their good business acumen. Though they have contributed greatly to the nation's development, unlike their counterparts, the Al-Lawatia in Oman, they do not enjoy the same level of acceptance and freedom with kidnappings rife and a lack of acceptance into the institution both politically and otherwise.
The Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar is an air traffic control agency based in Dakar, Senegal.
Andry Nirina Rajoelina is a Malagasy-French politician and businessman who has served as president of Madagascar since 2023. He previously served as president from 2019 to 2023, and was president of a provisional government from 2009 to 2014 following a political crisis and military-backed coup, having held the office of Mayor of Antananarivo for one year prior. Before entering the political arena, Rajoelina was involved in the private sector, including a printing and advertising company called Injet in 1999 and the Viva radio and television networks in 2007.
Neny Lalao Rakotonirainy Ravalomanana is a Malagasy businesswoman and politician who served as the First Lady of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009, when her husband, Marc Ravalomanana, was president.
Matata Ponyo Mapon is a Congolese political figure who was Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 18 April 2012 to 17 November 2016. Previously he served as Minister of Finance from 21 February 2010 to 12 April 2012; as Prime Minister, he retained responsibility for the finance portfolio. He currently serves as Senator for Maniema.
Cina Lawson is a Togolese politician, currently serving as Minister of Digital Economy and Digital Transformation, a role she has occupied since 2010.
Christian Ngan is a Cameroonian businessman, entrepreneur, music producer, songwriter and author the owner of Adlyn Holdings and Madlyn Cazalis Group, which has interests in cosmetics, agribusiness, Finance, Services, Entertainment and real estate. The company designs, manufactures, transports natural beauty products and operates mainly in Central and West Africa.
Marie-Cécile Zinsou is a French-Beninese art historian and entrepreneur, She is president of the Fondation Zinsou, founded in 2005 in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, West Africa, which promotes contemporary art in Africa and leads cultural, educational and social initiatives. In 2014 she opened the first museum of contemporary art in Benin.
Eranove is a French company active in the management of public services and in the production of electricity and drinking water in Africa. The company was formerly known as Finagestion.
Angèle Dola Akofa Aguigah is a Togolese archaeologist and politician. She was the first female archaeologist from Togo, and in 2017 she was given the honor of “Human Living Treasure of Togo“.
The Ambatolampy Solar Power Station is a 40 MW solar power plant in Madagascar. As of April 2022, it was the first grid-connected, privately-funded solar power plant in the country. The power plant, which was first commissioned in 2018, underwent expansion from 20 MW to 40 MW, between 2021 and 2022. The off-taker of the power generated at this renewable energy power plant is Jirama, the national electricity utility company.
Albert Rakoto Ratsimamanga was a Malagasy physician, biochemist and diplomat. Born into a disgraced royal family; Ratsimamanga trained as a doctor of exotic medicine in French Madagascar and France, where he pioneered modern nutraceuticals. Ratsimamanga returned to Madagascar and, with his wife, Suzanne Urverg-Ratsimamanga, in 1957, established the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research which specialised in herbal medicine.
The Africa CEO Forum is a company created and owned by Jeune Afrique Media Group. With the IFC, it co-organizes an event dedicated to African private sector actors, reportedly the largest annual gathering of African private-sector leaders, — drawing political and economic leaders from throughout the continent.
Founded in Tunis in 1960 by Béchir Ben Yahmed, Jeune Afrique Media Group is a pan-African media group based in Paris. It publishes Jeune Afrique, The Africa Report, and Africa Business+, which cover African and international political and economical news in both English and French.
Maminiaina Ravatomanga, often known as Mamy Ravatomanga, is a Malagasy businessman, owner of the Sodiat group, and close adviser to President Andry Rajoelina. He is quoted by Forbes, in 2017, as the second richest man in Madagascar, behind Ylias Akbaraly.