Hassan Hammoud: Quintessential Lebanese-Nigerian Entrepreneur Empowering Nigerians One Business At A Time

 

One of the keys to growth in any community or society is certainly the creation of employment which in turn brings about empowerment for individuals.

For a nation like Nigeria with a projected population 399 million people and Gross Domestic Product of $3.3trn by 2050, the gap between the reality of being Africa’s largest economy remains far-fetched for many living in abject poverty and less than $1 a day which is the United Nations benchmark for living just above poverty. For many, basic everyday survival is a struggle.

One company that appears to be empowering Nigerians with employment albeit silently in Nigeria is the Mamuda Group of Companies. With a reported direct employment of well over 11,000 Nigerians, the company is certainly making an impact in Nigeria’s socio-economic landscape.

The Mamuda Group is a diversified business conglomerate operating in five main sectors namely, beverages, sacks, mats, food, tanneries, leather, and power.

And one man is leading the charge. One can certainly not talk about the Mamuda Group of Companies without making a reference to it’s current Chairman and CEO, Hassan Hammoud, a Lebanese-Nigerian who is a second-generation leader of the conglomerate.

A consumate entrepreneur and seasoned businessman, he continues to expand the company through vision, eyes for details and strong business principles.

Under his leadership, the company has grown both vertically and horizontally with a strong portfolio of businesses along it’s five divisions with a strong ambition for expansion.

The company recently unveiled it’s most recent factory and this was commissioned by the Kano state governor on Saturday, June 26. The new company, Mamuda Food Nigeria Limited, is into the production of biscuits and wafers as well as other confectionary products which is to be unveiled soon.

According to him, a popular phrase at the Mamuda Group is; ”We shake hands from coast to coast.” Mamuda’s goal is to be able to serve customers from one end of the country to the other.

His company is one of the very few investors with private power generating plants and he says soon enough they will decide on whether to go commercial with it or not.

For Hassan, he says a safe business environment is essential to economic growth as he stresses that no business can thrive in an insecure terrain. These are the basic challenges Nigeria is facing in terms of having the right business environment.

Commodity prices, both oil and non-oil, have been volatile, he says. Global trends, be it security, trade or politics, have also been unpredictable.

”In Nigeria, we have had to cope with disruptions in oil production and export, security challenges and devastating floods. We have weathered these storms and made progress on many fronts, which is why we have cause to be optimistic about the future.

With all these challenges there are opportunities for the government to do the needful in making Nigeria retain the position of largest economy of Africa,” he concludes