The Muljibhai Madhvani Foundation

The Muljibhai Madhvani foundation is a charitable trust that was set up in 1962 on the eve of Uganda's Independence to honour the vision of the late Muljibhai Prabhudas Madhvani (14th May 1894 – 11th July 1958).

... we are looking for graduates with vision; individuals who are able to perceive the path to Uganda's future and who not only want to travel the road but also actively participate in its development.

Muljibhai Prabhudas Madhvani arrived in Jinja in 1912 aged 18. Due to his extraordinary vision, personality and ability he was able to take a humble trading concern and create a business that would later account for 10% of Uganda's GDP.

The following story best illustrates his ability to foresee the future development of Uganda.

On a sunny day in Kakira in the 1940s, on a hill overlooking the shores of Lake Victoria, Muljibhai Prabhudas Madhvani and his sons were having a heated argument. The senior Madhvani loved trees and although many had already been planted on his sprawling estate, he wanted to plant yet another mile of them - running through the marshes to the southern edges of his estate. The younger Madhvanis argued that while previously they had planted trees along estate roads, there wasn't even a footpath in the marshes to justify this grandiose project. But to all their opposition, Muljibhai had one answer: "Men are not stupid; one day there is going to be a road here".

Time would eventually bear him out. True to his vision, the section of the Jinja - Iganga highway that runs through Kakira Sugar Works today follows the line of trees that he planted more than fifty years ago.

Following his humble business beginnings there was no looking back and Muljibhai went on establishing industry after industry, laying the foundation for Uganda's economic development. As his business prospered, Muljibhai was keen to care for the well-being and welfare of his employees and the community at large. He established many educational institutions throughout Uganda's towns with a view to sharing his good fortune with the country that had been so kind to him. His workers and their dependants have long enjoyed free education, housing and healthcare, many decades before the term "corporate social responsibility" was even devised.

One of the Foundation's primary objectives is to maintain and promote scientific and technical education among the people of Uganda. The scholarship programme is aimed at benefiting Ugandans pursuing either undergraduate or graduate studies at University level in Uganda and has been in operation since the 2003/04 academic year (after the repossession of the assets by the Foundation), awarding over Four Hundred Million Uganda Shillings to a selected batch of graduates for each year until graduation.

In keeping with Muljibhai Prabhudas Madhvani's foresight we are looking for graduates with vision; individuals who are able to perceive the path to Uganda's future and who not only want to travel the road but also actively participate in its development.