Naushad Merali is a Kenya entrepreneur, he was born in Mombasa county, he chairs Sameer Group, a Kenyan conglomerate with interests in agriculture, construction, information technology, property and finance.

He is the founder of the Kenyan mobile service provider Kencell along with French media giant Vivendi. He was formerly the chairman and largest individual shareholder of Bharti Airtel’s operations in Kenya, but in 2014 he sold his shares and stepped down from the company’s board. His Zarina and Naushad Merali Foundation gives to hospitals and needy children.

He started his career by buying troubled companies. In 1975, he bought Frank Ryce for Sh.600,000. The deal was funded by the Commercial Bank of Africa. He later secured the franchises of Komatsu and Daihatsu

In 1984, he bought the Bank of America’s stake in CBA, a deal that was funded by local banks and was valued at Sh85 million. He now owns a 14% stake in CBA valued at about Sh1.5 billion.

In 1985, he acquired 51% stake in Firestone East Africa for Sh165 million. The company earned him millions of shillings in 1994, when the company was listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

Merali is estimated to be worth $370M as at 2015 according to Forbes.