Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia is a Ugandan business entrepreneur who has built one of the most successful corporate empires in the nation. Dr. Sudhir's love for Uganda is not just opportunistic, as it is for many investors who visit Uganda for the accompanying benefits.
Sudhir was born in Uganda to an Indian emigrant and reared there until his family moved to the United Kingdom in 1972, after Idi Amin's expulsion of Indians. He started living, studying, and working in the UK, but his heart was in Uganda.
The business entrepreneur remembers performing numerous part-time jobs in bakeries and butcheries while studying in the UK. While in the United Kingdom, the self-made billionaire worked for every penny he could get in order to buy his first home.
"When President Idi Amin exiled Asians in 1972, I went to the United Kingdom," he says. "I worked in factories, supermarkets, butcheries, and a variety of other odd jobs while studying in the evenings until I finished my A-levels." I made a lot of money and bought my first home in the United Kingdom in 1975. Sudhir said in an interview, "I worked and stayed there till 1985, when I returned to Uganda."
Sudhir returned to his dream home and restarted his life after the National Resistance Army (Movement) ousted Uganda's then-ineffective government in 1985. He started as a merchant, importing alcohol and wines from Kenya and selling them in Uganda, which became his first lucrative business until he launched Crane Forex Bureau in 1995, which he later renamed Crane Bank. Sudhir used many years of patience and honesty to build the multibillion-dollar corporation we know today.
The Ruparelia Group of Companies, colloquially known as the Ruparelia Group, is a conglomerate with extensive holdings in real estate, insurance, banking, education, broadcasting, hotels and resorts, floriculture, and other sectors.
The Ruparelia Group's most prominent investments have been in the real estate, tourism, and hospitality sectors, which have resulted in business hubs and tourist hotspots with world-class amenities.
Among the hotels and resorts are Speke Apartments, Speke Resort and Conference Center, Munyonyo Common Wealth Resort, Kabira Country Club, Dolphin Suites, Tourist Hotel and Forest Cottages, and Speke at Bujagali Falls.
While presiding over the World Tourism Day event in Kampala, Uganda's Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Right Honorable Thomas Tayebwa, praised Sudhir for investing in Uganda, notably in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
"I know people who have been pleading with Dr. Sudhir to come to their countries and help them grow," he said. "I know people who have been pleading with Dr. Sudhir to come to their countries and help them grow." "The guy has a lot of money, and we want him to come and invest in our communities," he said.
"So, chairman," Tayebwa said, "I want to congratulate you and your team of investors who have looked at Uganda as your number one investment destination." He pledged the government's support to Ugandan investors.
The Ruparelia Group includes Premier Recruiting Limited, Goldstar Insurance Company, Premier Roses Limited, Meera Ventures Limited, Sanyu FM, and several more investments in real estate, construction, banking, and education.
"This is my definition of success," I say, "when I realise that I started a project, that I created employment for people, and that the people who use my venues benefit from it." "That is my achievement," Sudhir continues.
His commercial empire employs tens of thousands of Ugandans in a country where jobs are scarce and young people struggle to make ends meet.
The Ruparelia Foundation is now recognised for its social responsibility, having started to give back to the community by visiting orphanages and financing sports activities and health camps. The Ruparelia Foundation gives back to the community and solicits public engagement every year at the end of the year. Thanks to its different stakeholders, the foundation has been able to carry out more than 600 interventions in supporting communities in various components deemed required depending on community needs.
Victoria University, one of Sudhir's major investments in Uganda's education sector, awards scholarships to hundreds of students each year.
According to the Forbes list released in January 2021, Sudhir has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion, making him the wealthiest person in Uganda and all of East Africa. His boundless fearlessness and determination to build Uganda have turned him into a great business leader whose investment potential propels the Ugandan economy.