Born in the Comoros Islands, Charif is a direct descendant of royalty and the great grandson of Sultan Hachim who, prior to the French colonization, was the last ruler of the Mbadjini region in Ngazidja (Comoros Islands). At the age of 12, Charif traveled to France to pursue his education. Upon high school completion, he spent three years in Avignon where he attended Ecole Superieure de Management, a school of international business. In addition to his native language, Comorian, Charif is fluent in French, English and Spanish. In 1988, during his last year of college, Charif visited Chicago and several other major U.S. cities as part of a university sponsored internship program. He was fascinated by the U.S. in general but particularly with Chicago. He realized that there were various opportunities offered to immigrants that were incredible with endless possibilities. He found the cultural diversity in the Windy City to be amazingly extraordinary.

In July 1989, one week after graduating from college, the 23 year-old returned to the Windy City with $300.00 in his pocket. He worked at a few restaurants while earning his MBA from Roosevelt University. In 2004, Hachim lost his grandfather, S.A.N. Dini Charif, a business pioneer who went from starting a small store in downtown Moroni in the 1950s to building a well known and widely respected import company in the Comoros Islands. Hachim decided to name his new company after his late grandfather in 2006 in order to continue the Dini Charif legacy.