The Beginning; Trading and Coffee 

The roots of several generations of the Madhvani Family can be traced back to Saurashtra, India in the village of Vanscharia. From there in about 1898 two brothers Vithaldas and Haridas Madhvani gave up their most humble livelihoods as farmers, and embarked upon a voyage of discovery and adventure to Africa. They travelled by dhow across the Indian Ocean to the spice island of Zanzibar and together they travelled further into the hinterland of the continent eventually settling in the trading town of Iganga, in Eastern Uganda

From here they set up a trading business of supplying the surrounding villages with sugar, salt fabric, soap and other essential commodities and in return helped market village produce of coffee, beans, cotton and agricultural produce. . Some years later the two Madhvani brothers called upon their younger cousin Muljibhai to join them.

As the business began to grow this small Madhvani Family applied to the Government of the Uganda Protectorate for some land upon which they planted coffee where, in 1910, the British Government granted them a plot of land at Kakira, near Jinja, ten miles from the source of the mighty River Nile.

Despite tough - and indeed dangerous - beginnings, the Family blended their farming skills with the business acumen they acquired in Africa, setting up a commercial coffee farm that prospered and grew steadily with time.

From Coffee to Sugar

In 1919 however, following the end of the First World War, coffee prices fell to an all-time low and the Family suffered its first major loss. Since however these were resilient men failure was not an option.

Not wishing to waste any time, the Family began planting sugar cane and manufacturing raw sugar or 'jaggery'. As the company Vithaldas Haridas & Co prospered, in 1930, and under the direction of Muljibhai, they built and commissioned the first sugar factory in East Africa to produce sugar.  In 1933 under the management of Muljibhai the Kakira Sugar Works steadily expanded the estate and the sugar mill, quickly earning the Family important status and recognition within the region.

By 1947 the company had expanded with seven partners and several agricultural and trading businesses throughout East Africa. The partners decided that it was time to partition the businesses.  Muljibhai acquired the Kakira Sugar Works, by which time there were also a cotton ginnery, a soap and an vegetable oil factory adjacent to the sugar factory.

In 1949, joined by his sons Jayant and subsequently Manubhai in the management of the businesses, Muljibhai Madhvani established a fine reputation for business and philanthropy synonymous with the sugar works at Kakira. Thereafter in the 1950's with the help of Jayant and Manubhai the Family diversified into manufacturing, beer, tea, steel, confectionery, cotton ginning and trading. By the end of the decade, the Madhvani Group employed over 5,000 people and became the largest taxpayer in Uganda. Muljibhai's expansive reputation gained munificent acknowledgement as he provided all his employees and their families housing, education, food and healthcare.

Going International

In 1958, Muljibhai passed-away peacefully, leaving his company to his five sons, three of whom were still young and at school. Jayant rapidly developed the business into a large, global, conglomerate that at its peak employed more than 12,000 people in seven countries.  While managing and expanding the Kakira Sugar Works to manufacture 70,000 tons of sugar by 1971, Jayant diversified into glass, textiles, safety-matches, pipes, packaging, light bulbs and plastics so that by 1970, the Family's businesses had grown in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, India, Lebanon, United Kingdom and Canada.

In 1971, the Family suffered two simultaneous tragedies. In January, Idi Amin assumed power in a military coup.  Six months later on 25th July, Jayant tragically passed-away in India at the age of 49.  He is survived by his wife Meena, eldest son Nitin, daughter Nimisha and younger son Amit and his brothers Manubhai, Pratap, Surendra and Mayur and their families. Amin proceeded to expel all persons of Asian origin from the country. The Family left the Uganda by December of that year, losing all their assets to the Government, which expropriated them.  The future of 9,000 employees and their families, and the future of Uganda were now inextricably linked.

Amin was exiled to Libya in 1979. Uganda had witnessed a period of unprecedented civil turmoil with several military coups succeeding each other.  As early as April 1979, within 3 weeks of the overthrow of Idi Amin, Nitin Madhvani, the eldest son of Jayant, was invited back to Uganda, by then President Yusuf Lule, to negotiate the return of property to the Madhvani family. Nitin was the first Indian to return to the country after the Amin coup and, with the help of successive Governments, was an activist in the debate for the restitution of expropriated and confiscated properties. In this Uganda - and Nitin Madhvani - took courageous decisions to return property to previous owners.  It was however no easy task, for political and military forces and opinions had to be confronted to convince all stakeholders that was the right thing for the country.

The family's industries (and all other enterprises without exception) had been mismanaged, looted, vandalised and virtually shut-down. But between 1980 and 1985 however Madhvani International, SA (MISA) began the long and arduous task to rehabilitate the businesses and commence the complex settlement of legal issues to settle ownership. By 1985 the Madhvani Family had completed the arduous task of resolving the legal complexities. Since then MISA and the Madhvani Family have re-established the productive businesses at Kakira and progressed into new areas. The Madhvani name has again gained the respect and reputation for fairness and integrity.  The Group is once again the country's top-employer, with a team of over 10,000 people in the Industry, Agriculture, Infrastructure and Energy sectors.

Commitment to Our Community

True to our roots and the philosophy of Vithaldas, Haridas and Muljibhai Madhvani, we continue to invest heavily in our people and in the communities that we serve. The Family has re-established medical, educational and social services as well as scholarships.  We regularly pledge significant donations to charitable and need worthy causes.