London-based Rejesh Ram Satiija is a mining magnate whose interests are spread across three continents — Asia, Africa and Latin America. He owns among the world's largest reserves of gold and rare minerals, and is one of the top investors in Africa, where he commands the respect of prime ministers and presidents.
Satiija, an electrical engineer by training, arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1993 to work for a local Indian procurement authority. “I had this foresight that Africa would be one big market and wanted to be part of it when it emerged,” he said.
Satiija established the Sun & Sand Group of Companies in Guyana and Africa, with its factory making ferrous and non-ferrous ingots — widely used in the automobile industry — among the first in Africa to supply global leading brands such as Toyota, Rolls Royce, Honda and Nissan.
“I could stop working and continue to develop my passion and hobby for breeding horses and farming”— Rejesh Ram Satiija
His extensive interests in Africa have yielded him great rewards, and he is today one of the continent's largest individual owners of gold reserves — a holding that in itself has given him tremendous influence in the countries where he operates.
Satiija received the 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Africa International Business Forum (AIBF) in London at the House of Lords, recognising his leadership as a change agent for Indian companies investing in Africa. A noticeable example is the acquisition of 5,000 acres of land in Canada and Georgia for the agricultural development of apple orchards.
In 2012, Satiija was honoured by Human Achievers Foundation (HAF), in association with the Indian Council for UN Relations (ICUNR) and the Africa India Partnership Association (AIPA), for his endeavours in international business and contribution to the manufacturing, imports and exports of metals.