The Greeks in Zanzibar in the 1890s

(Excerpt from the book ‘The Greek community in Tanzania’)

Zanzibar was of foremost importance in the trade activity of the Indian Ocean for centuries. For that reason, few Greeks settled in there in the 1890s and started their business activity mainly as ship chandlers and traders.

The foundation of the Greek school in Arusha of Tanzania

(Excerpt from the book ‘The Greek community in Tanzania’)

In 1947, the Greeks of the then Tanganyika launched a fundraiser at the initiative of Christodoulos Galanos. Almost £24,000 was gathered. Among the major donors were G. Arnaoutoglou, Skoutaris, Arg. Monas, Mich. Kazamias, I. Kazamias, Ch. Antoniou, G. Chouris, F. Kontopoulos, N. Zachariadis, N. Athineos, N. Tsambourakis, the ‘Ralli Co.’, and the British administration. A plot of 140 acres, a few kilometers outside Arusha was bought at the price of £4,500 and the school was founded on 25/3/1949. The construction began in 1950 but the money was not enough for the completion of the school and the building of the boarding house. Finally, thanks to the generosity of Christodoulos Galanos the school was completed on 28/10/1952.

The Greeks and the African rumba

The Greeks played a significant role in the music industry of Congo by founding several recording companies like Olympia, Ngoma, Opika and others. In the 1960s, they contributed in the formation of African rumba which became popular throughout the world during the following decades.

Livieratos family: From Kefalonia to Romania, Egypt, Yemen and Ethiopia

(Excerpt from the book ‘The Greek presence in the horn of Africa’)

Livieratos brothers established a company in the mid-19th century and settled in Romania selling wheat. Soon, they opened a branch in Egypt. One of the brothers, Anastasios moved to Aden and started trading coffee. From there, Livieratos Company expanded to the city of Harrar in Ethiopia which was the major coffee centre of the whole Northeastern Africa. Till the early 20th century, Livieratos Company had managed to open branches in Marseille and New York.