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Said Salim Bakhresa has a message for entrepreneurs who hit setbacks: keep going. The chairman of the Bakhresa Group of Companies says patience, perseverance and hard work matter more than luck in business success.
Bakhresa, 78, shared his story in an interview on Fahari Yetu, a program aired on UTV on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, according to The Citizen. He said people underestimate the time it takes to build something over many years, then grow discouraged when results do not come quickly.
“Life is a long journey,” he said. Problems are inevitable, he added, and progress comes step by step. He urged people to focus on effort and the determination to keep moving forward, rather than chasing overnight success.
Born in Zanzibar, Bakhresa said he left school at 14 because of family circumstances and began trading small items to support himself. He later moved to Tanzania’s mainland and kept pursuing a living in food service, starting with street snacks such as urojo and mishkaki before opening restaurants of his own.
That modest start eventually became a regional business footprint. The Citizen reported that Bakhresa’s group now includes more than 17 companies operating in Tanzania and in nine other African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and South Africa.
He said the turning point was a decision to persist, even when nearly every plan seemed to stall. “Nothing worth achieving comes easily,” he said, calling challenges a normal part of life and business.
Bakhresa recalled that when he entered business, the environment was difficult for private entrepreneurs because many sectors of the economy were run by the state. He tried different ventures, he said, and many failed. “There was no small business I didn’t attempt,” he said. Instead of quitting, he learned from mistakes and returned with more effort.
Work came first, he said, describing stretches when he moved only between home and the workplace and avoided leisure. At one point, he said, he repeated that routine for three months straight. He credited discipline, relentless hours and faith for helping him break through the early years.
He also pointed to the role of public policy, saying government support and a more favorable investment climate helped his companies expand at home and abroad. He said clearer rules and a predictable market can give businesses room to invest, hire and plan for the long term.
In his advice to young Tanzanians, Bakhresa emphasized discipline and realism about timelines. Building a company, he said, means accepting failures, staying focused and taking opportunities when they appear. He said he never imagined his enterprise would become so large, but steady work and readiness helped him seize openings along the way. He urged young founders to keep learning, guard their reputations and stay close to customers. He said success is often quiet at first, visible after years of consistent, unglamorous routines and careful choices, day to day.
