The Dawood Group (), also referred to as the Dawood Group of Companies, is a term used in Pakistan to describe a collection of diversified businesses owned by the Dawood family. The family's business activities were initiated by Ahmed Dawood (1905-2002).
The Dawood Group is not a legally registered corporate entity; rather, it is a descriptive designation for the family's various business interests. Dawood Corporation (Pvt.) Limited, founded in 1948, serves as a family-owned company within this structure.
The Dawood family established and expanded its industrial and commercial activities during the early decades following the independence of Pakistan, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. The group's operations are headquartered in Karachi and encompass a range of sectors across industry and commerce. Ownership remains with the Dawood family.
Ahmed Dawood was considered as one of the country's senior industrialists. By 1933, his firm had become the largest supplier of imported yarn to the textile mills in India. Following the Partition of British India in 1947, he migrated to Pakistan with his brothers Suleman Dawood, Siddique Dawood, Sattar Dawood, and Ali Mohammad Dawood.
In 1948, the family established Dawood Corporation (Pvt.) Limited in Karachi as a trade enterprise. In the same year, Dawood (England) Limited started business operations in Manchester. The group began with a small office and a retail outlet in Saddar and expanded its business significantly over the decades.
By 1970, the combined undertakings of the Dawood family was one of the largest business groups in the country. The following year marked a substantial change: After the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, approximately 60% of the businesses led by Ahmed Dawood, including all investments in former East Pakistan, were lost as a result of the nationalisation policies there. The remaining enterprises in Pakistan were affected by nationalisation measures implemented in the early to mid-1970s.