5 African people who overcome poor to rich (part1)

You absolutely won’t believe the stories of these five African individuals. True examples of how God and faith can get you from poverty to prosperity, you’ll find their lives truly inspiring.

1.Cosmas Maduka – Entrepreneur

In the work force since the tender age of four years, Cosmas Maduka has been a hard worker all his life. From selling bean cakes at four to becoming an automobile apprentice at the age of seven, he worked his way through the automobile business until he was working his own company with his brother, selling spare automobile parts. His ingenuity and had work paid off, and he was a well-settled businessman by the time he turned 19. Mr. Maduka is now the founder of Coscharis Group, a multi-million dollar empire.

“My friends, I tell you that unless you have a vivid picture in your mind of what you want to create; you will not be passionate about pursuing and actualizing the goal.“ – Cosmas Maduka

2. Iman Abdulmajid – Model and business women

Image source: Clutchmagonline.com

Known for her one-word name and charity work, the woman born as Zara Mohamed Abdulmajid in Somalia would later become simply, Iman. She spent most of her life in boarding school in Egypt, then moved to Kenya. Later, while in university, she was discovered by Peter Beard. She moved to the United States to pursue a career in modeling and landed her first shoot for Vogue in 1976. She is now a well-known supermodel, philanthropist and cosmetic pioneer.

“One thing my mother always instilled in me is to always know my worth. Don’t settle for less. She used to say to me ‘Iman, no is a complete sentence, learn to say no. You don’t have to explain it you don’t have to say anything after it. It’s a complete sentence.’ So when I came to America 1975, I found out that the black models were being paid less than white models. So the first thing I did was say I’m not going to do the job unless I’m paid the same amount.“ – Iman Abdulmajid

3.Dr. Mengi Portal0 – (Occupation – Entrepreneur)

Born in Northern Tanzania, living in a mud hut that he shared with livestock, Reginald Abraham Mengi struggled to get an education in a world where “doing alright” included one meal a day and shoes on your feet. However, he ended up studying accounting in the United Kingdom and then returned to his home country to work with Coopers & Lybrand Tanzania. He became one of the company’s chairmen and then left to create his own business, which then became one of the country’s largest.

4.Djimon Hounsou– Actor

Djimon Hounsou followed his dreams, which landed him a modeling and acting career worth around $10 million. How did he do it? After being born in Benin to a poor family, he made his way to Lyon, France. He lived there in his early teens, living on the streets and fighting for survival while simultaneously trying to find jobs as a model. Against all odds, he made it in Paris and lived there until he was fully established, before heading to New York.

” Being educated and being intelligent are two different things. I thought I was smart enough. And I wanted to be an entertainer. I stopped going to school as a way of saying I was mature, a way of saying I was going to choose who I was going to become.“ – Djimon Hounsou

5.Samuel Eto’o – Football player

Image source: Zimbio.com

Samuel Eto’o may have grown up in what may look like a terribly poor situation, but in his home state of Cameroon, he wasn’t doing too poorly, sharing a small space with his five siblings. With a lack of toys or money for toys, he and his brothers created balls out of plastic bags and played football barefoot. He loved soccer and had a real knack for the sport, which was soon noticed by scouts. He was picked up at the age of 16 and taken to Spain, where he got a deal with Real Madrid. Since, he’s retired from international football and received the Golden Foot Award.