Mohammed was born in Mendefera in 1953 from his father Mohamed Hagos Juhar and his mother Fatima Idris Kahssay. Soon after he was born our parents migrated to Addis Ababa leaving Mohammed with our grandfather. Our grandfather was a self made businessman who was known for his famous bakery shop in Mendefera.
Mohammed completed his elementary school at St. Georgeo School Mendefera. At school Mohammed was always a top student coming 1stin his class. When he came 2nd once or twice he would make sure he secured his first spot the next time around. During his school holidays Mohammed worked at our grandfather’s bakery where he had his first experiences of involvement in business. Mohammed, only about 10 years old then, would load bread on the delivery bicycle and supply shops and tearooms. The clients loved him, they would ask him to have tea and chat with them. Even at that early age his communication skills and attraction to people was there to be noticed. This experience at the bakery left him with a love of freshly baked bread. There is nothing Mohammed liked to eat more than freshly baked bread.
In 1970 Mohammed moved to Addis Ababa to join his parents and his younger siblings. By then Mohammed had completed 9th grade at St Georgeo in Mendefera. My father wanted him to go to the best school in town, St. Joseph School in Addis Ababa where the feudal elites sent their children. Coming from remote Mendefera, Mohammed’s first challenge was to sit for a tough entry exam to join 10th grade. Again Mohammed scored high points and got admitted.
Within a year Mohammed spoke Amharic fluently and made lots of friends at his new school. He finished in the top five in his first year and by grade 11 and 12 Mohammed was always coming 1st.
In 1973 he joined Addis Ababa University Faculty of Science. After a year of studying at the University the Derg came to power and Mohammed had to go to do his national service (Zemecha). In 1976 he ran away from the Derg and came to the UK.
From 1976-1980 Mohammed studied Chemical engineering at Brunel University, Uxbridge and gained a Bachelors Degree in 1981. Then from 1981-1982 he went to Aston University, Birmingham to do his MBA. Typically both his Bachelors and Masters Degree were achieved with first class grades.
In 1983 he tried in various ways to set up his own business. Then in 1984 he started a very successful property development business in London. His talent in communication and lovable character gave him an advantage in business. To him work was done at leisure and he would be talking and laughing with clients whilst closing deals at ease. Mohammed had the knack to make life appear so simple and enjoyable. He was full of energy and loved having a good laugh, he saw humour in everything. His energy rubbed off on people and even clients enjoyed his company.
Mohammed was married in August 1988 to Mensura Idris and has 3 children. It would have been his 20th wedding anniversary this August. readmore
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