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Rostam Aziz, who has spent decades quietly stitching together one of East Africa's most sprawling business empires, made headlines in March 2026 when he acquired a controlling stake in Nation Media Group from the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, ending a 66-year chapter in East African media history.
The deal, executed through his private investment vehicle Taarifa Ltd, gives Aziz indirect ownership of NMG's 54.08% stake, which was previously held by AKFED. It is a transaction that would have seemed improbable even 15 years ago, when Aziz was still a politician in Tabora region.
But Aziz has always had a particular view about where African wealth should go. He has long argued that East Africans should trade more among themselves, invest in one another's markets and build institutions that stay on the continent. The NMG deal is, in many ways, a statement of that philosophy. One of the region's most influential media institutions has moved from a development-oriented foreign owner to a locally rooted East African billionaire.
So who exactly is Rostam Aziz?
Aziz was born in Igunga District in Tanzania's Tabora Region and studied economics at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. He entered politics young, eventually serving as Member of Parliament for Igunga from 1994 to 2011. He was also CCM National Treasurer from 2005 to 2007. In 2013, Forbes named him Tanzania's first dollar billionaire.
He resigned from parliament in 2011 and turned his full attention to business. Since then, the Taifa Group has grown into one of the most diversified private conglomerates in East Africa, spanning telecoms, energy, mining, media, aviation, leather, real estate and now regional media.
The NMG acquisition may be the deal that defines this chapter of his career. Whether it also defines East Africa's media landscape in the years ahead remains to be seen.
Here is a full breakdown of his business holdings as of 2026.
1. Taarifa Ltd (Nation Media Group)
This is the newest and perhaps most high-profile piece of the Aziz empire. Taarifa Ltd is a private investment company set up specifically to acquire the controlling stake in NMG. Through Taarifa, Aziz now controls 54.08% of Nation Media Group, one of the most recognisable media brands in East and Central Africa. NMG operates more than 30 brands, reaches a digital audience of over 62 million users, and employs more than 1,000 people across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The company remains publicly listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
2. Taifa Gas Group
Taifa Gas is the centrepiece of Aziz's energy empire and is widely considered the largest liquefied petroleum gas distributor in Tanzania. The company operates storage capacity of 7,450 metric tonnes and distributes LPG across Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. Aziz extended the business into Kenya in 2024 through a major new LPG terminal at the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone in Mombasa, a project valued at roughly $130 million. The Mombasa terminal was commissioned by Kenyan President William Ruto in December 2024 and has been described as the largest private foreign direct investment in Kenya since 1977. A legal challenge against the project was dismissed by the Environment and Land Court in Mombasa.
3. Taifa Mining and Civils Limited
Formerly known as Caspian Limited, Taifa Mining is Tanzania's largest mining contractor. The company has built long-running relationships with some of the world's biggest mining groups, including De Beers, Barrick Gold and AngloGold Ashanti. It has more than 30 years of experience in the Tanzanian mining sector and is the contractor of choice at most of the country's major mines.
4. Williamson Diamonds Limited (stake)
In 2023, Taifa Mining acquired 50% less one share of Petra Diamonds' shareholding in Williamson Diamonds Limited, in a deal valued at $15 million. The acquisition was executed through an affiliated company called Pink Diamonds Investments Limited. Williamson Diamonds operates the Mwadui mine in Shinyanga, Tanzania, which was established by Canadian geologist John Williamson in 1940 and has been in continuous operation ever since, making it one of the oldest continuously running diamond mines in the world. The mine is renowned for producing rare pink diamonds, which can fetch up to $700,000 per carat. A 54.5-carat pink diamond from the mine was gifted to Princess Elizabeth as a wedding present in 1947. Petra Diamonds retains operational control and the Tanzanian government holds a 25% stake.
5. MIC Tanzania Plc (Tigo Tanzania and Zantel)
Aziz co-acquired MIC Tanzania Plc in partnership with AXIAN Telecom in a deal worth around $100 million. MIC Tanzania is the parent company of Tigo Tanzania and Zantel, two of the country's established mobile telecommunications operators. Tigo Tanzania and Zantel were formerly separate entities before being brought under the MIC Tanzania umbrella.
6. Habari Corporation and New Habari Limited
These are Aziz's existing Tanzanian media holdings, which he has controlled for years. New Habari Limited publishes several Swahili-language titles including Mtanzania, The African, Bingwa, Dimba and Rai. Aziz first entered the media space in 1999 when he co-founded Mwananchi Communications Limited, which launched The Citizen, Mwananchi and Mwanaspoti. He later sold his Mwananchi stake and moved his media interests to Habari Corporation, acquiring the company from prominent Tanzanian journalists in 2006 and renaming it New Habari Corporation.
7. Taifa Aviation Company and Coastal Travels
Aziz expanded into aviation through Taifa Aviation Company, which acquired a majority stake in Coastal Travels, one of Tanzania's well-known aviation and travel service companies. The move was part of a broader strategy to diversify the Taifa Group portfolio across East Africa.
8. Taifa Gas Investments SEZ Limited
This is the specific entity behind the Mombasa LPG terminal project in Kenya. Taifa Gas Investments SEZ Limited developed the 30,000-tonne storage and distribution facility at Dongo Kundu and secured a licence from the Kenyan government to operate there. The project had faced legal challenges before receiving court clearance.
9. Tanzania Leather Industries Limited and Ace Leather
Aziz holds interests in leather processing through both Tanzania Leather Industries Limited and Ace Leather. These businesses process leather goods and are part of the broader Aziz Group manufacturing footprint, which the family has grown over multiple generations.
10. Wembere Hunting Safaris Limited and African Tanzania Limited
Both companies are part of the wider Aziz Group holdings and represent the family's longer-standing business interests in Tanzania. They sit alongside the core Taifa Group businesses as part of the conglomerate's diversified structure.
