Ashish J. Thakkar is an East African entrepreneur, who achieved recognition as the founder of the Mara Group and Mara Foundation, as well as the co-founder of Atlas Mara Limited. Thakkar was born in the United Kingdom, but he moved to East Africa as a teenager before founding Mara Group, a Pan-African conglomerate, at the age of 15.[1] Today, Mara Group's operations and investments span across 22 African countries.[2] Additionally, Thakkar authored the book The Lion Awakes: Adventures in Africa's Economic Miracle.[3]
Thakkar is a member of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders,[4][5]