Top 5 Ugandan Tycoons Named
Charles Mbiire (L) with Patrick Bitature have made it to Forbes list of wealthiest Africans.
Forbes has released a list of Ugandan multi-millionaires on their list of 40 Richest Africans. The list identifies them as ultra-wealthy Ugandan tycoons, entrepreneurs and business leaders. According to Forbes, each of them is worth more than $50 million.
Sudhir Ruparelia – businessman and entrepreneur. He is the Chairman and majority shareholder in the companies of the Ruparelia Group. His investments are mainly in the areas of banking, insurance, education, broadcasting, real estate, floriculture, hotels and resorts. He moved to the United Kingdom with his parents in 1972, at the age of 16, when Idi Amin expelled all Asians from Uganda. He returned to Uganda in 1985, with US$25,000 to start his Ugandan businesses, which later grew into the Ruparelia Group. His empire includes Crane Bank, Kampala Parents School, and The CHOGM Resort that sits on acres of land in Munyonyo at the shores of Lake Victoria. He is also a member of the exclusive Kwagalana Group – a club for only the wealthiest fellows in Uganda.
Patrick Bitature – businessman, entrepreneur and industrialist. He started his business empire with a single company, Simba Telecom, then a retail chain dealership, in MTN air-time. From there he expanded into broadcasting, with the acquisition of Dembe FM radio station, followed by Simba Electronics. He is the owner of Protea Hotels Uganda. He is the Board Chairman of UMEME. He also has interests in insurance, banking, hotels and resorts. Today, his businesses have subsidiaries in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria.
Charles Mbire is part owner and member of the Board of Directors of the Afro Alpine Pharma Limited, East Africa Fish Farming Limited, Ecobank Uganda Limited, Eskom Uganda Limited, MTN Uganda Limited and Rift Valley Railways. The Mukiga man who hails from Kabale District, southwestern Uganda is so wealthy that he commissioned two of Uganda’s lead musicians, Juliana and Bobi Wine, to sing a song for his mother which later became a hit on local airwaves. He also paid the International singing duo – Brick and Lace to sing at his daughter’s birthday. He started his career in 1985 as managing director of Pop-In Industries Limited and four years later moved on to become the Uganda resident representative of the Hyundai Corporation. His investments range from telecommunications, finance, energy, real estate, pharmaceuticals, agribusiness and transportation. He is also Chairman of the Uganda Securities Exchange.
Amirali Karmali is the founder of East Africa’s Mukwano Group – an industrial conglomerate that manufactures cooking oils, fats, toilet soaps and cosmetics to industrial plastics and detergents. The group has annual revenues of over $230 million and most of the company’s products are market leaders. Karmali is also one of Uganda’s biggest landlords; he owns 17,000 acres of land in Uganda’s Masindi district.
Amos Nzeyi owns Crown Beverages Limited the sole bottlers and distributers of Pepsi Products, Hot Loaf Bakery and White Horse Inn – a private hotel in Kabale, southwestern Uganda plus 40% of National Bank of Commerce.
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apart from mukwano all the others are “bicupuli”. they depend on political patronage.
Mukwano included
“He owns 17,000 acres of land in Masindi district”….a foreigner surely.
Whoever tells you that Mukwano is a foreigner is wrong. Mukwano is a Uganda of Indian origin just like several others. Ok!!!
Change of regime will test who the genuine entrepreneurs are and who was just a crooner
Hey guys, no ugandan wouldn’t want to be where those mentioned are, whether political patronage or not we should live and let live coz the very people you resent behind the scenes are the very ones you want to be seen hanging(kulebeta) around with. As long as they pay taxes and wealth they have acquired is re-invested in Uganda such as in properties, employment and so forth, we should not have qualms with that. The only disease most ugandans suffer is hypocrisy. Who told you foreigners do not own land and by the way Mukwano may be of Indian descent or for that matter sudhir, but they are Ugandans like so many indeginous ugandans have become all nationalities.Political patronage as you refer to the above starts somewhere. Bitature started his simba telecomm and it was his ingenuity, sudhir did jada, mukwano never left uganda even when indians were expelled and amos nzeyi is known for hoat loaf and the rest of what they have become is part of the story. Let’s learn to work other than begrudging those that are doing well coz wishes wont transfer wealth
but you guys how could you leave out our Basajjabagula he own almost everything
you guys we need to work harder,
mukwano all the way. well deserved,but the rest of the group are people who have taken advantage of this regime to make money.
Who lies to you that Ruparelia has ever hd any money? That’s Ugandan taxpayers’ money Who doesn’t know that he’s M7’s agent?
All Banyarwanda and Indians!
those guys are hard working. Given the same opportunities would u be among the list. banange tukole tuve mukuwooza.
thanks for informing those sleeping Ugandans
am going to be next
Where are the likes of Prof. Wavamuno, Dr. Martin Aliker, Aga Ssekalala (Uga chick), etc. the true enterprenuers of this country. Apart from mukwano the rest are ‘Kiwani’.
How could you leave me out? I am number 2…
guyz,BIG is BIG. Accept .
Apollo, u said it, ok, they are all foreigners but they have invested the money in the country, they are not the ones who open up companies and they last for two to five years.
Well! What are their respective positions among the 40 richest Africans? But I don’t expect the likes of Basajja, Wava and Madhvani to miss the list.
They are my inspiration !
they are present examples of hard work,let me work hard.
I don’t think they are the top richest because most of them don’t pay taxes with the exception of Mukwano. let us work hard as Ugandans and be able to provide for ourselves than wait to be given handouts. the tycoons should also give back to the society.
Were is sam kutesa!
I nominate Sudhir and James Mulwana well done. Keep carrying the African torch. What people don’t realise is that economies are built by the private sector not governments
They keep blowing bells and whistles for Bitature but I honestly don’t think he’s that rich he made his money in mobile phones at the time when monopoly was possible but these days mobile phones are everywhere and I also don’t believe he owns Proteria because there’s a branch in Southern Africa SA or something and might have just expanded into Uganda, can’t be that both hotels have the same name. As someone said political vapour and media obsession
Wow,that’s awesome though the list is not genuine bse so many guys have worked for their wealth way back before this corrupted regime like Sebana,Wava,Aliker&Sekalala plus many more.But when will such people ever get involved in Non-profitable Organisations to help the needy like other countries since they already have what some of us call enough like the Northerners who seem to be from a different planet?