Ali Dharani: Indian-born Namibian businessman behind Rani Group’s retail empire

Ali Dharani is a Namibian businessman and founder of the Rani Group of Companies, a diversified retail and trading group that has grown from an import-export operation in northern Namibia into a nationwide network spanning retail, wholesale, manufacturing and logistics.

Ali Dharani’s business journey began after he settled in Namibia in 1994 and established his first business in Oshikango, the border town connecting Namibia with Angola. His early focus on import and export gave him exposure to the cross-border trade that would eventually underpin the expansion of his business empire.

From border trader to retail powerhouse

Ali Dharani subsequently built Rani Traders and related businesses into a wholesale and retail network serving consumers across Namibia. By the late 2000s, Rani had established operations in key northern markets including Oshikango and Rundu, with the group’s cross-border customer base becoming an important part of its business.

Over time, the group expanded through businesses including Rani Traders, Dharani Traders, Oshana Cash & Carry and Rundu Cash & Carry, establishing outlets across locations including Windhoek, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Outapi, Eenhana, Ondangwa, Otjiwarongo and other Namibian towns.

The expansion transformed Rani from a border-focused trading operation into a national consumer business. By 2024, Ali Dharani said the group owned about 40 shops and employed roughly 3,000 people, with festive-season turnover reaching approximately N$7 million to N$8 million per day. By 2025, media reports placed its retail network at between 56 and 65 outlets, with employment of roughly 3,000 to 4,000 people.

Beyond retail: building a vertically integrated empire

Ali Dharani’s ambitions have increasingly moved beyond supermarkets and wholesale outlets. Through Grow More Investments, described as a subsidiary of Rani Group International, the group has expanded into manufacturing and logistics. By 2025, the business was reported to operate 56 retail shops and eight manufacturing outlets, employing about 3,500 people.

Its planned expansion into the former Ramatex textile complex in Windhoek could represent another important chapter. Grow More Investments received in-principle approval for a 25-year lease of two portions of the site for logistics and manufacturing operations.

The move reflects the evolution of Ali Dharani’s business model from importing and selling goods to building greater control over their distribution and potentially production.

Building influence beyond business

Dharani has also developed a significant profile through philanthropy and community investment. Rani funded the construction of the Oshana Secondary School of Computing, contributed wheelchairs to Namibia’s 14 regions and has provided scholarships and other education support.

The group has also sponsored regional trade expos and community initiatives, reinforcing Dharani’s influence in the towns where his businesses operate.

His growing commercial footprint, however, has attracted scrutiny. Rani has faced labour disputes and, in August 2026, Namibia’s Competition Commission opened an investigation into allegations involving Rani and major consumer-goods suppliers. The investigation concerns alleged preferential pricing, stock allocation and other potentially anti-competitive practices; these remain allegations and are not findings of wrongdoing.

From a single import-export business established in Oshikango in 1994, Dharani has built Rani into one of Namibia’s most expansive privately controlled retail and distribution businesses.

His next challenge is to turn that scale into a more vertically integrated industrial group while navigating the greater regulatory and competitive scrutiny that comes with becoming a dominant force in Namibia’s consumer economy.