Many can attest that His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan who died today aged 88 in Lisbon, Portugal, was perhaps more known for his investments and business influence across East Africa than his spiritual endeavors.
Born on December 19th, 1936 in Geneva Switzerland as Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. He held the position of Imam and the title of Aga Khan from 1957, after succeeding to the position at the age of 20 upon the death of his grandfather, Aga Khan III.
Aga Khan spent his early childhood in Nairobi, Kenya, and then attended Le Rosey School in Switzerland for nine years and later graduated from Harvard University in 1959 with a BA Honors Degree in Islamic history.
It is in Nairobi that the Aga Khan built a multi-sectoral business empire spreading his tentacles across East Africa through the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), a development agency dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and building economically sound enterprises in the developing world, often in countries that lack sufficient foreign direct investment.
The CEO Magazine has compiled some of the Aga Khan’s major investments across East Africa and the influence on economies and people.
Media
After his studies at Havard in 1959, Aga Khan returned to Kenya to establish the Nation Media Group with Daily Nation and Sunday Nation first printed in 1960. Taifa Leo was the first Swahili newspaper in Kenya.
History captured by Nation Media Group reveals how by any measure, 1960 was an epoch defining year with the world and indeed Kenya, going through a great transition. From the cold war to independence across the continent, the winds of change were upon the world. It was during this time of political turbulence, struggle for independence and Pan-Africanism that the Nation was born, on March 20 1960 as a voice for the majority African population.
The years between 1990 and 2000 saw dynamic expansion in the Nation Group: a new headquarters in downtown Nairobi, a new upmarket weekly, The East African, a USD 12 million (Ksh. 750million) press hall on the city’s outskirts with the latest in printing technology, entry to the internet and crucially, a move into the broadcast media.
Debt-free and buoyant at the end of 2002, the Nation Media Group took steps to implement a board commitment to pursue other opportunities and turned its attention to its neighbours in Uganda and Tanzania. Having already acquired a feisty, but hard-up, Kampala tabloid, The Monitor eventually renamed Daily Monitor; Nation Media launched a radio station, Monitor FM (KFM) 93.3, to capture the prime Uganda audience for news and entertainment.
Today, NMG has operations in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. It is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and cross-listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, the Uganda Securities Exchange, and Rwanda Stock Exchange. The Group posted a turnover of KES 7.1 billion (USD 54 million) at the end of 2023 Financial Year.
Financial Services
Aga Khan investments also extend into the insurance industry through Jubilee Insurance Group to provide life and general insurance across the region. The Group has grown into the market leader in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Mauritius. In 2021 the Group entered a strategic partnership with Allianz and currently it has over 450,000 clients in East Africa.
Jubilee Allianz is listed in the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange and the Uganda Securities Exchange, having been rated highly on Leadership, Quality and Risk Management. It has an AA- rating in Kenya and Uganda and an A+ in Tanzania.
Jubilee Allianz has maintained its position as the largest composite insurer in East Africa for the 14th consecutive year. It has also retained the number one position in health business in Kenya and Uganda, short-term business in Uganda and general business in Tanzania.
Diamond Trust Bank
Established 70 years ago, Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has matured into a fully fledged commercial banking group in East Africa with branches in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Diamond Trust Bank (DTB), which was founded in the 1940s, offers retail and commercial banking services in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi via a network of over 135 branches.
It primarily serves corporate and SME customers. DTB offers an array of banking services, including the provision of financial services to over 900,000 customers via alternative delivery channels.
DTB Kenya is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and has nearly 12,000 shareholders worldwide. Its key shareholders include Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), which is an AKFED subsidiary, and International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Industrial Promotion Services (IPS)
Aga Khan set up the Industrial Promotion Services in 1963 to encourage and expand private enterprise in countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It operates several infrastructure projects, including a large-scale hydropower plant, as well as a number of key industries in Uganda.
The flagship of IPS’s infrastructure investments in East Africa was the US$ 900-million Bujagali hydropower plant located on the River Nile. Bujagali is one of the largest independent power plants in sub-Saharan Africa. With a capacity of 250 MW, it has doubled Uganda’s effective generation capacity and is currently providing 33 percent of the country’s electricity.
In the past, frequent load-shedding or electricity blackouts were estimated to account for a 1-1.5 percent loss to Uganda’s GDP, thereby slowing the country’s economic development. With this significant increase in generation capacity, the project has virtually eliminated load-shedding and replaced emergency thermal generation. Access to reliable, more affordable and cleaner power has improved the investment climate across the country and the region and led to overall improvements in the quality of life.
Ugandan enterprises urged to explore regional oil and gas opportunitiesThe Plant was established through a public-private partnership model between the Government of Uganda and a consortium led by Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development and Blackstone affiliates (Sithe Global Power). In 2018, Sithe Global Power sold its shares to SN Power Invest Netherlands. Other project partners currently include the International Finance Corporation, the African Development Bank, PROPARCO (France), CDC (UK), DEG (Germany), FMO (Netherlands), International Development Agency (World Bank), ABSA Bank Limited (South Africa) and Nedbank (London Branch).
The West Nile Rural Electrification Company
The West Nile Rural Electrification Company (WENRECo), another Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development project, supplies electricity to the West Nile region. Commissioned in 2012, the 3.5MW River Nyagak mini hydroelectric plant now provides a renewable source of energy in an area where only one percent of the rural population of 1.4 million previously had access to electricity.
A first of its kind, the project was also the first in Africa to qualify under the World Bank-administered Prototype Carbon Fund, which generates funds for sustainable development through the purchase of project-based greenhouse gas emission reductions that are consistent with the Kyoto Protocol, the framework of Joint Implementation (JI) and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
Supported by the Government of Uganda, German development institutions and the World Bank, the West Nile project provides an attractive model for rural electrification not only in Uganda but for Africa more broadly. A steady supply of electricity has already had an impact on the functioning of hospitals and schools. It has assisted the growth of entrepreneurial activity, particularly basic agro-based industries.
Kampala Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd
IPS has also made investments in several key industries, including Kampala Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (KPI), which is one of the largest manufacturers of pharmaceutical drugs in Uganda. KPI manufactures high quality and affordable essential medicines for communicable and non-communicable diseases as well as food supplements (nutraceuticals) for the domestic and regional markets.
Uganda Fishnet Manufacturers Ltd
Another IPS investment, Uganda Fishnet Manufacturers Ltd. (UFM), provides a locally manufactured supply of quality fishnets, an essential product for one of Uganda’s most significant export industries. Fishnets are produced in a manner that is consistently compliant with local and international standards, thus promoting sustainable fishing practices.
Serena Hotels
Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development holds 64 percent shareholding in Serena Hotels offering accommodation in a diverse collection of 35 up-market properties, including hotels, resorts, safari lodges, camps, palaces and forts.
Serena Hotels span across 6 countries in the Eastern African region including, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique and DR Congo and 12 properties in Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan).
In the 2023 annual report, Serena Hotels registered significant growth in business volumes from both domestic and regional markets spanning leisure, corporate travel, events, and functions. Notably, Serena city hotels continued to be preferred venues for high-profile events and governmental and diplomatic functions.
The Hotel chain achieved a 40% increase in turnover compared to previous year to stand at KES 9.7 billion (USD 75 million) compared to KES 6.9 billion in 2022 (USD 53 million).
Health
For over fifty years, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi (AKUH) has set the standard for comprehensive healthcare and modern medical education in East Africa with advanced facilities and state-of-the-art technologies which has earned it a great reputation.
With four established medical centres in Kampala, with the first opening in 2012, The Aga Khan University Hospital went a notch higher by opening the Nakawa Specialty Centre located on the Old Port Bell Road in Kampala.
The first facility on the upcoming Aga Khan University’s Kampala campus, the Centre offers chemotherapy, dialysis as well as diagnostic imaging such as CT scans, mammography, neurophysiology and ultrasound.
It also offers access to an array of specialists including gynaecology, paediatrics, cardiology, neurophysiology, oncology and endocrinology, among others. Physiotherapy, mammography, dentistry and laboratory and pharmacy services are also available.
At the inauguration of the Centre in 2024, Uganda’s State Minister for Health Hon. Margaret Muhanga, lauded the Aga Khan University (AKU) for its continued investment in the country’s health and education sectors.
AKU has been active in Uganda for 24 years. In Kampala, it has graduated 1,400 nurses and midwives who are working in government and private-sector institutions in urban and rural communities across the country.
Several hundred Ugandan teachers and journalists have graduated from or are enrolled at AKU and more than 2,000 have completed short courses. In total, AKU has graduated nearly 5,000 nurses, doctors, teachers and journalists across East Africa.
