Billionaire Muhammed Jaffer is the founder of Africa Gas and Oil (AGOL), which owns Proto Energy Limited.
Proto Energy Ltd is ISO Certified and is the largest manufacturer of bulk, cylinder, and bulk tanks, as well as an autogas dealer and LPG re-filling company in Kenya.
The company sells Pro Gas, Sea Gas, and Oto Gas, with branches across the country.
Mohammed Jaffer was born in Mombasa in 1948.
He is best known for founding MJ Group, Kenya’s largest provider of cargo handling services.
The Group has interests in grain handling, logistics, energy, LPG, and port operations across East Africa.
Jaffer serves as Chairman of MJ Group and invested Ksh4.5 billion ($35 million) in it.
Established in the 1990s, the company has grown into a conglomerate valued at KSh16.3 billion.
MJ Group History
The Group’s history traces back to Haji Dewji Jamal, who opened a trading office in Zanzibar in 1860.
The merchant family operated a business spanning South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, establishing a branch in Mombasa.
However, the family’s involvement in the business diminished by the end of World War II in 1945.
“By the time I finished school, I had to start from zero,” Jaffer notes.
In 1968, he joined his father in an insurance brokerage position and later started his first business, a car dealership, with a partner.
Muhammed Jaffer Forced to Start from Zero
He had to start afresh in 1974 when his partner took over everything they had built.
Jaffer began with Ksh20,000 and was involved in pallet manufacturing until 1983.
He transitioned to the container business as the pallet enterprise slowed down.
It was during this period that he conceived the idea of bulk grain handling.
Jaffer realised that bagging could be done at the silos, reducing costs and waste, instead of at the quayside.
He took on the grain bulk handling terminal as a regional project, utilising the port in Mombasa for Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Sudan.
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Grain Bulk Handlers
Jaffer established Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd (GBHL).
According to the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), GBHL commenced operations in 2000.
It owns and operates a specialised terminal for handling bulk grain imports and is the sole operator for mechanical bulk grain handling at the Port of Mombasa.
A key feature of the GBHL facility is that the storage silos are located outside the port area, facilitating easy port access for trucks and minimising road congestion.
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In April 2023, GBHL launched a new grain-handling and storage terminal in Embakasi, Nairobi.
Jaffer stated that the terminal will enable millers and manufacturers to discharge, store, and transport grain from ships to the inland Nairobi terminal.
President William Ruto, who attended the event, expressed confidence that the terminal will play a vital role in addressing food security in the country.
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