Mehta Group

Mehta Group, also known as The Mehta Group of Companies, is a diversified Indian conglomerate with historical roots in Uganda and operations or subsidiaries across India, East Africa, North America and other international markets. The group traces its origins to Nanji Kalidas Mehta, who migrated from India to Uganda in 1900 at the age of 13 and began building a portfolio of agricultural and industrial enterprises. His early activities included tea cultivation, cotton ginning, sugarcane production and sugar manufacturing. These businesses established the foundations of a group whose development has repeatedly followed the movement of agricultural commodities into processing, manufacturing, infrastructure and financial services. During the 1930s, Mehta expanded into India, establishing a textile mill and ginning factory in Porbandar, Gujarat, as well as a trading company in Bombay, now Mumbai. The group later entered cement manufacturing with the creation of Saurashtra Cement Limited in 1956. This cement platform became one of the central pillars of the Indian business, later complemented by Gujarat Sidhee Cement Limited. Cement, sugar and associated industrial operations have remained important elements of the group's portfolio. The group experienced a major disruption in Uganda in 1972, when Idi Amin's government expelled Asians from the country. The group's Ugandan assets were surrendered, with many transferred to the government-controlled Uganda Development Corporation. Mehta Group subsequently concentrated on businesses outside Africa while also developing new international activities, including a consultancy operation in India and a plastics plant in Canada. This period transformed the organization from a principally East African and Indian enterprise into a more geographically distributed conglomerate. After Idi Amin was removed from power in 1979, the group was invited to return to Uganda and repossess its assets. During the 1980s, its Agrima consultancy business expanded into a range of countries in Africa and Asia, including Ethiopia, Cameroon, Sudan, Burundi, Nigeria, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. The group also undertook the rehabilitation of its Ugandan businesses and began or developed additional industrial operations. In India, it established a second cement plant through Gujarat Sidhee Cement Limited, while its existing cement facilities were expanded and modernized. During the 1990s, Mehta Group broadened its activities into financial services through Transafrica Assurance Company Limited. Its wider portfolio has included sugar production, cement, packaging and disposable products, floriculture, engineering, electrical cables, management and technical consulting, insurance, international trade and international finance. Subsidiaries and associated businesses identified with the group have included Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited, Lugazi Power Station, Cable Corporation Limited, Uganda Hortech Limited, Agro Chemical and Food Company Limited in Kenya, Monarch Plastics in the United States, and several Indian industrial and consulting companies. The group is based in Mumbai and headquartered in Gandhinagar, India, while maintaining an international operating footprint. Reference material describes a workforce of more than 55,000 people worldwide and an asset base exceeding US$2.1 billion as of December 2024; these figures are group-reported or reference-derived scale indicators rather than independently verified financial disclosures. Mehta Group's current identity is therefore best understood as a privately oriented, family-founded multinational conglomerate organized around industrial production, agricultural processing, infrastructure and business services rather than as a single consumer-facing product brand.

Mehta Group's history begins with Nanji Kalidas Mehta, who left India for Uganda in 1900 when he was 13 years old. He built an early business network around agriculture and processing, including tea, cotton ginning, sugarcane cultivation and sugar manufacturing. The combination of plantation activity and industrial processing became a recurring pattern in the group's development. In the 1930s, Mehta extended his activities into India. He established a textile mill and ginning factory in Porbandar, Gujarat, and created a trading company in Bombay. The group's entry into cement followed in 1956 with Saurashtra Cement Limited. Cement later became a major Indian business line, with Gujarat Sidhee Cement Limited adding a second manufacturing platform. The group's East African operations were severely affected in 1972, when Uganda's government under Idi Amin expelled Asians from the country. Mehta Group's Ugandan properties were surrendered, and many were taken over by the Uganda Development Corporation. In response, the group focused on non-African activities, including an Indian consultancy operation and a plastics plant in Canada. This diversification helped establish a broader international structure during the 1970s. Following Amin's removal in 1979, the group was invited to return to Uganda and recover its assets. During the 1980s, it rehabilitated its Ugandan businesses and expanded the Agrima consultancy operation into several African and Asian countries. The group also developed additional cement capacity in India and modernized its cement plants. In the 1990s, Mehta Group entered financial services through Transafrica Assurance Company Limited. Its subsequent portfolio has covered sugar, cement, packaging, floriculture, engineering, electrical cable, consulting, management, insurance, international trade and international finance. Listed group companies and operating businesses have been identified in India, Uganda, Kenya and the United States, with the group's historical consulting activities reaching additional countries. The modern Mehta Group is an international conglomerate based in India, with Mumbai associated with its business base and Gandhinagar identified as its headquarters. Its operations combine agricultural production and processing with heavy industry, manufacturing, infrastructure, professional services and finance. The available reference material does not provide a complete account of ownership arrangements, executive leadership, revenue, or the legal status of every listed subsidiary.

• 2024

  Reported international scale

  [1]Mehta Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material describes the group as employing more than 55,000 people and holding assets exceeding US$2.1 billion as of December 2024.

• 1990

  Entry into financial services

  [1]Mehta Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group established Transafrica Assurance Company Limited during the 1990s and continued expanding and modernizing its Indian cement operations.

• 1980

  International consultancy expansion

  [1]Mehta Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Agrima Consultancy expanded into multiple African and Asian countries, while the group rehabilitated its Ugandan businesses.

• 1979

  Return to Uganda

  [1]Mehta Groupen.wikipedia.org

  After Idi Amin's removal, the group was invited to return to Uganda and repossess its former assets.

• 1972

  Ugandan assets surrendered after Asian expulsion

  [1]Mehta Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The expulsion of Asians from Uganda forced the group to surrender its Ugandan possessions and concentrate on non-African operations.

• 1956

  Entry into cement manufacturing

  [1]Mehta Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Saurashtra Cement Limited was established, creating a major Indian cement platform for the group.

• 1930

  Expansion into India

  [1]Mehta Groupen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1930s, Mehta established a textile mill and ginning factory in Porbandar and a trading company in Bombay.

• 1900

  Nanji Kalidas Mehta begins business activity in Uganda

  [1]Mehta Groupen.wikipedia.org

  At age 13, Nanji Kalidas Mehta migrated to Uganda and began developing businesses in tea, cotton ginning, sugarcane cultivation and sugar manufacturing.

A diversified, internationally oriented industrial conglomerate with a historical emphasis on agriculture-linked manufacturing, cement, sugar, engineering and business services.

• Cement · 1956

  Saurashtra Cement

  Saurashtra Cement Limited is one of the group's principal Indian cement businesses. Established in 1956, it represents Mehta Group's move from agricultural and trading activities into large-scale construction-material manufacturing. The business is associated with cement production in Gujarat and has been expanded and modernized over the group's history.

• Cement

  Gujarat Sidhee Cement

  Gujarat Sidhee Cement Limited is the group's second major Indian cement platform. It was developed during the period of post-1970s reorganization and diversification, adding manufacturing capacity to the group's existing cement interests and reinforcing its position in the Indian industrial sector.

• Sugar and agribusiness

  Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited

  Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited, commonly abbreviated as SCOUL, is a Mehta Group sugar business based in Lugazi. It reflects the group's historic integration of sugarcane cultivation, agricultural production and sugar processing in Uganda.

• Insurance

  Transafrica Assurance

  Transafrica Assurance Company Limited is the group's insurance business in Uganda. Established during the 1990s, it marked Mehta Group's expansion from industrial and agricultural operations into financial services.

• Consulting

  Agrima Consultants International

  Agrima Consultants International Limited is the group's consulting and management-services arm. During the 1980s, the consultancy expanded its international work across Africa and Asia, supporting the group's broader transformation into a multinational business-services and industrial organization.

• Packaging and plastics

  Monarch Plastics

  Monarch Plastics Inc. is a plastics business associated with the group and based in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Its inclusion in the portfolio reflects the group's North American diversification into plastics and packaging-related manufacturing.

• Electrical products

  Cable Corporation

  Cable Corporation Limited is an electrical-cable business located in Uganda. It forms part of the group's industrial portfolio alongside engineering, power and manufacturing activities in the country.

• 1979

  Re-entry and rehabilitation of Ugandan businessesStrategy

  Background

  After Idi Amin was removed from power, the Ugandan authorities invited the group to return and recover its former assets.

  Action taken

  The group returned to Uganda and began rehabilitating its industrial and agricultural operations.

  Aftermath

  Uganda again became an important operating market, with sugar, power, engineering, cable, horticulture, commerce and insurance businesses associated with the group.

  Source

• 1972

  Shift toward non-African operationsStrategy

  Background

  The expulsion of Asians from Uganda resulted in the loss or surrender of the group's Ugandan possessions.

  Action taken

  Mehta Group concentrated on its Indian and other non-African businesses and developed new activities, including consulting in India and plastics manufacturing in Canada.

  Aftermath

  The response accelerated the group's transformation into a geographically diversified international conglomerate.

  Source

1. 1Mehta Groupen.wikipedia.org