KemetLeads
Marc Ravalomanana
He sold yoghurt off a bicycle, bought the dairies, the shops and the screens, then took the presidency.
The rise
Born on 12 December 1949 in Imerinkasinina near Antananarivo, into a farming family, he began selling homemade yoghurt from a bicycle and in 1982 founded Tiko with World Bank credit, building it into Madagascar's largest agro-food group. In 1999 he was elected mayor of Antananarivo after the costliest campaign the city had seen.
What they did
He claimed the December 2001 election, held the capital through a six-month standoff and took office in 2002. Growth ran near seven percent a year, primary school fees went, protected areas tripled and the anti-corruption body BIANCO was created. A mutiny forced him out in March 2009 and he spent five years exiled in South Africa; he lost the 2018 runoff to Andry Rajoelina.
The full picture
He never separated Tiko from the state: his firms took tax exemptions and contracts, opposition media were closed, and a Daewoo land lease and a $60 million jet fed the 2009 revolt. On 7 February 2009 his guard fired on marchers at the palace, killing about thirty; a court his opponents installed later gave him life in absentia.
Why it matters
Madagascar's defining modern figure and the cleanest study of the conflict of interest running through African business-politics: the president who owned the dairy and the television, felled by his commercial rival.
“I am the President of Madagascar, democratically elected and in accordance with the constitution.”