Mulwana was the first Ugandan to venture into manufacturing

 A lot has already been said about the late businessman and industrialist, Dr. James Senkali Mulwana, who died on Tuesday morning. Most of all, he has been lauded for pioneering local manufacturing when he became the first indigenous Ugandan to establish a manufacturing industry Uganda Associated Batteries in 1967. 

At the time of his death, he had built a formidable business empire with interests in manufacturing, agriculture, banking and real estate, among others. Last year, MEDIA PLUS caught up with him for a TV interview about his journey from a secondary school dropout in the late 1950s to the top echelons of business in Uganda today. Caroline Ariba transcribed it.

Background

I was born in July 1935 in Kiboga district which is about 78 miles from Kampala. I went  to school, but dropped out in secondary school and never made it to university. When I dropped out, I immediately started looking for a job. 

Eventually, in 1960, at the age of 25, I got a job at a newspaper where I was in charge of advertising. I worked there for one year, but then I realised it was not going to help me much. So I quit and went back to do something else.

I then got another job to manage Express Club and also got another job to manage a nightclub for a gentleman. But I was fired at 3:00am on the very day I started work. That turned out to be a blessing. As a matter of fact, they helped me because it was then that I decided I would not be employed by anyone, any more.

Starting out in business

I started business in 1961, after I lost that job at the club. I heard from someone in Japan saying their companies wanted products from Uganda. Well, I started what was called indenting, which in other words means looking after manufacturers. I would send samples to the company in Japan, through a company I was representing  called Black Ben. Majorly, I used to send textile from Uganda to the business community in Japan. When they liked the samples, they would connect them and I would be given a commission.

What did you do next?

Shortly, I formed my own company called Afro Agencies and started exporting certain items to the UK. These items would not  make sense to many of you today; they were wooden combs! I was selling them to Shepherd’s Post which was a known African market in the UK. I would send my consignment by post. You see, everything was efficient then, not like now.

Combs, these were hair combs?

Yes, wooden hair combs. That was what people used before we introduced the plastic combs those days. 

Who were your clients in the UK?

It was a small company in Shepherd Bush market. I don’t remember the gentleman’s name but he was Jewish. He was the one who sent an inquiry that he was looking for African wooden combs. Since it was easy to get people here to make them, I took interest and started business. 

So, how much money did you start with in the comb business?

When I started, I had only sh2,000. It was the only money that I had put together from my little savings. At that time, sh20 was equivalent to a pound. So, you can calculate how much I needed to start my business (£100; about sh435,000 today). 

How much were you selling each comb?

To relate it to the shilling at the moment is hard, but I remember I was selling each comb at about 10 pence to the Jewish man in the UK.

Did you drop the other business you were doing?

No, I was doing both businesses. Since I now had my own company, I was selling products on commission from different countries. I would get products from Japan and take them to all the marketers around. Then we would send orders to Japan for more and back-and-forth, for a commission of 3% of everything sold.

Anything else?

Oh yeah, when I started exporting combs to the UK, I would also import hair wigs for the women. You see; at that time, many women liked wearing wigs and they were on high demand.

Starting Uganda batteries Ltd

In 1967, I heard from a friend who was the minister of commerce then that there was a man who wanted to start a joint venture in a company that makes batteries. He needed someone with the knowledge of the place to partner with. I took the opportunity. The company was called Uganda Associated Battery.

How much money went into the battery company?

Well, majority of capital was brought in from the partners. We were given 45%, shares to pay back over a period of time. You know, this British company was not short of money; but they were short of knowledge of the local market. They did not bring the money right away. We had to do some work such as surveying the market. It was not until our work was completed in 1967 that they decided to come. Then we started looking for land in Kampala City Council. 

Was it that easy to start such a renowned company?

It was very challenging. At the time, there were no factory buildings to rent. We had to build our own industry. It took up to two years to construct the factory because the materials needed were hard to find.

Starting  Nice House of plastics

I used to import toothbrushes from  Germany at the time alongside the other businesses but the late William Kalema, a friend of mine, told me that the future was in toothbrush manufacturing. So in 1970, I started my own small tooth-brush making company that I called Ship Toothbrush Factory, which we later changed to Nice House of Plastics. You see; we were no longer making toothbrushes alone, we were involved in many different plastics and that was why I changed the name.

So, how easy was it starting a factory for an indigenous businessman when there were so many Asians?

Yes I did. But banks were more lenient then. For example, machinery for the toothbrush factory cost sh150,000 then. There used to be a bank called Netherlands Bank, a foreign bank that was eventually bought by Grindlays Bank (which is now Stanbic Bank). It was that gave me a loan. To service the loan, the bank took everything I was producing and kept it in their warehouse. They sold off every thing until they recovered their money.

Is it possible to have that kind of arrangement with a bank today?

Well, things have changed. They are using a different method now. 

Twist of events

On May 1, 1969, the prime minister then announced what was called the Common Man’s Charter, nationalising all the foreignowned companies.

According to this charter, foreigners were not supposed to hold majority shares. They were supposed to have 49% ownership while the locals owned 51%. He was trying to protect the local interests. But Uganda Associated Battery was 55% British-owned. But thank God that during that process, our company was not nationalised because it was small. Other companies were nationalised.

In 1972, Amin expelled all the foreigners from the country and the company suffered a blow. You see, the managing director of this company was British, the financial controller was Indian and we had two expatriates — all foreigners. They all left and I was alone. It was difficult. 

What happened next?

I kept doing business with them undercover. All along I stayed in touched with them. You see, this battery company was huge. It operated 40 different companies around the world. The one in Uganda was just a branch. So, I used to go to Kenya, Thailand and other countries where they operated and would meet up with them just to get ideas.  

We pursued business in this mode until President Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986. In 1988, we were able to make progress after the President visited the factory.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the battery industry which was very big in the UK was struggling. The business of car batteries went to Asia, South Korea and Thailand So, eventually the company sold all their companies. I bought the one in Uganda in 1990 and turned it into a family business – Uganda Batteries Limited.

How many businesses do you own today?

I……(falters) I own three businesses full-time. The core business is Nice House of Plastics Limited which is more less a bigger company than the others because we employ over 300 people and the turnover is slightly higher than Uganda Batteries Limited.

We own Jesa Dairy Farm Limited set up from resources generated from Nice House of Plastics. We also own another company called Jesa Investments Limited which deals in property development.

To what do you owe your success?

It was not easy making it. But one of my greatest inspirations was to get out of poverty. I wanted to succeed. I made mistakes but my ambition was to succeed. I made plans and tried to follow them but many did not succeed because of different factors. 

However, I had to put in a lot of hard work and trustworthy. But I am not an entirely self-made person. I could not have been what I am today on my own. I attribute my success to a combination of contributions from different people; my staff and people like the late William Kalema who advised me on what direction to take in business.

How big is your family?

Well, (signaling the family portraits hanging in his office) you can see my family...there is my wife and my three children.

What do your children do?

My first born girl studied marketing at Northwestern University in Chicago, USA. My son is a financial analyst and an accountant with a Master of Business Administration. My last born is an IT engineer.

Do they all work with you?

All of them came back. The last born, after graduating from Northwestern University went to work for Good Year for two years then came back to Uganda. She has been here since. One of the girls heads the marketing department while the other heads finance.

You have been nominated three times as the best CEO in East Africa, what does this mean?

Those who nominated me know why they did it, but I believe it was because of my contribution to business in East Africa, especially the manufacturing sector. I also know it was done out of respect. They must have picked me because of the values and business principles I espouse.

What is needed for businesses to grow in Uganda?

In Africa, political instability has deterred our growth and taken us back by over 20 years. In the process, we have lost educated Africans who have left to other countries. But they are now beginning to come back. A new generation is coming. The Government needs to work hand-in -hand with the private sector to create a conducive environment that will attract multinationals to come and invest in Uganda.

Role in UMA

By 1972, I was already actively involved in the manufacturing sector. At that time, there was an organisation called Uganda Manufacturing Association (UMA). It was formed by a very respected and prominent entrepreneur, Madhvani. He was a very down-to-earth man; he interacted with everyone and it was because of this that I got the opportunity to meet him because I was a member of UMA.

At the time UMA was a progressive association. We benefited a lot from the association as manufacturers. Madhvani, busy as he was, was very helpful. He was also the chairman of the Import and Export Licensing Board. So, the private sector had a lot of input in government policies that affected them. 

But because of all the political interruptions at the time, UMA ceased operations in 1972. So when I got the opportunity in 1988 after the political climate had stabilised, I moved to revive the association because of the benefits it afforded manufacturers.

Did your personal contribution to revive UMA help the business climate in Role in UMA Uganda?

I wouldn’t call it mine per se. It was a collective effort of reviving the association. I mobilised 75 companies that we started out with although I brought the idea. Today there are over 700 members. We have benefited a lot; indirectly and directly.

Indirectly, we have been able to influence government policies in business through advocacy. We have put proposals that ensured that government policies are friendly to the private sector and business environment in Uganda.

Tips for success from James Mulwana

*Credibility is very important.  We need to be trustworthy in order to succeed in business.

*You need to learn the discipline of saving. Learn to save whatever little you can. Try not to be unnecessarily extravagant. Sometimes we are tempted to do things that we really should not be doing.

Since I have associated with Thailand, I have realised how they have managed to succeed in Asia. They have mastered the art of saving and it has helped their economies soar.

*Lack of adequate business capital is a worldwide challenge. No body starts business with capital; there are very few - maybe (late great American Industrialist and philanthropist John Davidson)

Rockefeller’s grandchildren. But even Rockefeller might have started with nothing. I met a priest in California where I met Robert Schuller, a priest who started a crystal church with only $500 that is now worth over $200m.

*Success in business is not about money. It is about having a plan, a will and  persistence. Once you have a plan and you follow the plan diligently, you will succeed.

*Start small and grow. Nothing happens  overnight. Over a period, it is impressive what you can achieve, however small you started. We all started as small entrepreneurs.