Ashish J. Thakkar is an African businessman and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Mara Group and Mara Foundation, and he is a co-founder of Atlas Mara. Thakkar was born in the United Kingdom, but he moved to East Africa as a teenager before founding Mara Group, a Pan-African conglomerate, at the age of 15. 


Mara Group's operations and investments span 22 African countries. Thakkar is a member of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders, and was featured on Fortune Magazine's list of the top "40 Under 40" in 2013. He was awarded the Base Leadership Award at the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards event.