Ashish Monpara, the owner of the Modern Group, which operates ten factories in Uganda, including Modern Tiles in Njeru, Buikwe district, recently revealed the reasons behind his decision to invest in Uganda. During the Uganda-UAE Summit in Kampala, he shared his insights.
Monpara’s factory in Njeru currently produces 49,000 square meters of tiles daily, with plans to triple this capacity to 150,000 square meters per day when fully operational.
Monpara explained that his initial attraction to Uganda was the country’s natural beauty. He expressed this sentiment while being driven to Jinja, where he was captivated by Uganda’s scenery, local cuisine, vibrant culture, pleasant climate, and friendly people.
Furthermore, his independent research convinced him that Uganda was the most economically, politically, and socially stable market with substantial potential.
In his speech, Monpara revealed the investment journey, stating, “From a distance, in India and UAE, we started opportunity research for impactful investments in Africa since 2010. Our data and analytics team was clear – Uganda was the most economically, politically, and socially stable market with huge potential.”
Monpara’s decision to invest in Uganda dates back to 2015 when he arrived in the country for the first time. His visit was marked by the awe-inspiring beauty of the land, particularly Mabira Forest. He expressed his love for Uganda’s serene and fascinating environment to his father, and this marked the beginning of the Modern Group’s presence in Uganda, with the establishment of their first plant, Modern Distillers Ltd, in December 2015.
Since then, the Modern Group has established ten industrial verticals with a total investment of over $200 million, providing import substitution value of $100 million. These include Modern Distillers (2017), Modern Gas (2018), Modern Aluminium (2019), Modern Organic Fertilizer (2019), Modern Sanitizer (2020), Modern Tiles (2020), Kidera Sugar (2021), Lamborghini Drinks & Beverages (Modern Spirits) (2022), Acquisition of Kaliro Sugar (2023), and Modern Power (2023).
Monpara emphasized the group’s commitment to product quality, highlighted by several quality awards, including Consumer’s Choice Awards and a Manufacturing Excellence Award.
As of April 2023, Modern Group received the Best FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) award for its Tiles Plant in the Global Investment Awards held in the UAE, a prestigious recognition for Uganda after a 12-year hiatus.
The group has also made a significant impact on employment, directly employing over 2,000 local youths and indirectly benefiting around 20,000 people, contributing to both the local standard of living and government revenue.
Looking ahead, the Modern Group plans to deepen its investments in refined and industrial sugar, set up an iron ore steel plant in Muko, and establish a pharmaceutical vaccine plant. Additionally, Modern Group is the first entity in the world to sign a production deal with Lamborghini, aiming to produce and export Lamborghini products from Uganda.
Ashish Monpara expressed gratitude to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for creating an enabling environment for investments and thanked Minister Evelyn Anite and the Uganda Investment Authority for their support.
