One of the best-known business names in Uganda is the Madhvani
Group, which employs over 10,000 people and is a major contributor to the
government’s revenues. The Madhvani family, originally from India, has been in
business in Uganda for more than half a century.
By the 1960s, the family had built a huge commercial empire in
Uganda and East Africa. When Idi Amin expelled all the Asians in 1972, the
Madhvanis fled to Britain. They did not return until the mid-1980s at the
invitation of President Museveni. There was no sugarcane, the factory was looted,
there were no roads and few people. But we took up the challenge because we
thought this country had great potential in agriculture.
The Kakira Sugar Works at Jinja and the associated sugar
plantations employ the majority of the 10,000 people who work for the group.
Together with the outgrowers and their families, the Madhvani Group supports
around 40,000 local people. The group provides free schooling, healthcare,
training and scholarships to promising pupils. The family foundation has
donated several buildings in Kampala to the government. Although initial
financial support to rebuild the core of his industrial empire came partly from
the government, Mr. Madhvani stresses that he is currently seeking to initiate
joint ventures with foreign private investors ready to take advantage of the
group’s widely diversified interests.
The range of products the company is involved in includes edible
oils, confectionery and soap, as well as steel manufacturing, metal products,
glassware, packaging, tea, flour, brewing, floriculture, insurance and a TV
station. ‘’We are ideally positioned to identify partners who wish to do
business in Uganda in some of these areas,’´ he adds.
The group’s core businesses, however, are based on agriculture and
tourism ’· two sectors which Mr. Madhvani says Uganda has yet to exploit to the
full. Tourism in Uganda is developing, but its still relatively virgin
territory. ’´
The group owns two luxury hotels, the Paraa Safari Lodge in
northern Uganda and the Mweya Safari Lodge in western Uganda, which is an ideal
base from which to track mountain gorillas. One of the most important things we
have in Uganda are the facilities for tracking gorillas. There are very few of
these primates left in the world, and they are a big selling point, ’´ Mr.
Madhvani says. He adds: We are not looking at Uganda as a main destination, but
as a springboard for Kenya and Tanzania. Tourists can visit Uganda directly
from there ’´ Mr. Madhvani wants to see easier access for tourists traveling
between these east African countries. The government has got to set up a good
infrastructure to encourage the free movement of tourists across the borders,
’´ he says.
(Ojijo is an ICT lawyer, author of 31 books, performance poet, armature pianist, business systems expert, career mentor, luo culture expert, public speaker and coach :+256776100059: ojijo@allpublicspakers.com)
