By Michael Kanaabi Dollar
Being born with a silver spoon in the mouth as the English love to say is ideally every one’s wish especially if you have faced some of the adult pangs that come with hustling and trying to build your own mini-empire from scratch.
While from an outsider’s perspective being a daughter or son of a billionaire businessman or woman is considered to be living a life of luxury and opulence there is a lot more that comes with it like having the bar set too high for you in regards to what you have to achieve to measure up to or surpass your larger than life parents not forgetting the media scrutiny of your every step especially the mistakes and the expectations of society which simply assumes you have to be like your billionaire big name parent by default.
Dealing with all that pressure in many cases can take a toll on many billionaire heirs and heiresses in waiting but that’s the plate life has gifted them and they have to eat from it. Below are some of Uganda’s outstanding and most renowned billionaire heirs and heiresses in waiting many of them already walking some good miles in the big shoes of their parents they will have to fill one day.
Nadia Mbire
When you are born to a dad who can fly international artistes to your wedding or birthday party minus butting an eyelid, you are surely born into financial royalty and Nadia Mbire daughter to billionaire Charles Mbire, Chairman of Uganda’s biggest company by revenue MTN Uganda and one of the richest men in Uganda as well exudes it all money, class, glitz and glamour.
Married to Yasser Matovu a son of another old money club Business Man Matovu also known as Youma, it’s money and money for Nadia either way.
But don’t be mistaken by her extravagant parties or controversial headlines about her love life and marriage, there is more to this young, feisty, brainy, agile mother of two than just her Mbire name and socialite status.
In a 2019 interview with a local daily, Mbire revealed while she would easily have sat back and enjoyed the easy life of a rich man’s daughter but she respects the value of work as she grew up seeing how hard her Father worked to build the fortune he amassed so she chose to go out and hustle, find work away from her Dad’s businesses.
Having been a Business Analyst and grown through the ranks to Senior Associate with the big 4 firm Deloitte and had a stint in banking too as a Customer Service Representative at EcoBank, Nadia Mbire who did her undergraduate studies at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom with a Masters Degree in Marketing and International Business from Heriot Watt University has since gone one to hold her own in Business.
She is the Co-Founder of Pappzd and also its Marketing Director and was last year named a Meta (formerly Facebook) brand Ambassador for their Creators of Tomorrow project besides being a top organiser of social events like VIP pop up club parties where her fellow rich kids come to party, mingle and spend big adding some good zeros to Nadia’s already fat bank account.
While she has a soft spot for the finest things in life Nadia Mbire Matovu clearly does have the brains to maintain and grow her billionaire Father’s fortune when her time comes but for now let the glamour Queen once referred to as ‘Black Kim K’ in Uganda’s socialite circles party in peace!
Nataliey Bitature
If Patrick Bitature was born a girl and grew up to become a lady he would surely be Nataliey Bitature, the feisty brown beauty is truly a chip off the old block.
Gifted with the gab just like her dad billionaire businessman Patrick Bitature, Nataliey can talk her way into any big office or board if she needs to. A one hour conversation with Nataliey on everything business from management to hiring, delegating, building a start up from scratch will leave you thinking you have just been talking to a leading expert on all things business.
And don’t be mistaken, her ability to churn out so many words per minute is not a weakness, it is a sign that her processing speed upstairs of many things business and beyond business is way above average.
Well what would you expect from a lady who had an early start in the game, growing up watching her dad grow Simba telecom from an agent of MTN airtime and Nokia phones into a diversified conglomerate with interest in hotels, real estate, power generation among other sectors.
Educated in some of the best schools and universities on the globe, Natalie’s place in the who is who of Uganda’s business titans of tomorrow is surely being prepared.
She started social enterprise Musana Carts that empowers micro Entrepeneurs with solar powered food vending carts and raised 30,000 Us dollars through crowd funding for this project.
She sits on a number of boards which include Uganda Property Holdings Ltd, Makerere University innovation and Incubation centre and Simba Group as well.
Currently Chief of staff at her Father’s Simba Group of Companies, She holds a Masters Degree in Management with a focus on Social Entrepreneurship and Project Management from the world famous Hult Business School, University San Francisco, she also holds an Honorary Doctorate in Leadership from Keele University in the UK where she did her undergraduate studies, she sits on the Advisory Board of Keele University as well and will certainly fly Simba Group into greater spaces when her time comes.
Gideon Kirumira
As his dad seasoned business Man and Chairman of the famous Kwagalana group of city business moguls scales the heights from business and now into diplomacy, there is a quiet executor of strategic operations and ever present Advisor in his son Gideon Kirumira.
Currently serving as Managing Director of KPI Security based in Industrial area which is one of the many companies his billionaire dad has interest in, Gideon has the calmness, composure and demeanor of a big business man in the making.
Kirumira ‘Junior’ is also a Director in Trigger Enterprises, Revolt Finance Company among other businesses. He is also the Chief coordinator for Kampala city of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry which is a business lobby and support services Organisation for members of the business community besides being a big time organiser and fan of motorsport away from the hustle of business.
And with all the tools and connections his dad has built over time, do not be surprised when Gideon takes it to continental level, given his dad has already entered the coveted diplomatic circles where business deals at international level are closed.
Rodney Mukula
Hon. Captain Mike Mukula the Father to fast rising businessman Rodney Mukula is a Business and political titan in his own right.
A former Government state Minister and currently member of the powerful Central Executive Committee of Uganda’s ruling NRM party where he is Vice Chairman representing Eastern Uganda, Flight Captain Mike Mukula is businessman turned political juggler per excellence.
He has smartly managed to be in good books with many movers, shakers, big names politically and culturally across the region be it in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and even beyond, so as Rodney Mukula his son whose business interests span commodities, agriculture and produce, waste management, energy, media and other spheres grows into his own, he will surely have some big shoes to fill.
Already occupying some big positions as CEO of Asante Waste Management, also a board Member of Asante Agro, ENEL Power Services and an Executive Director at Asante Energy among other companies, Rodney Mukula is surely gaining the required experience and connections needed to hold his own when the time comes.
Sim Katende
A son one of the finest lawyers we have still living in Uganda today the name of his father Statesman and Senior Counsel John W. Katende evokes fear, power connections, business savvy and elegance all at once in a single mention.
A fine lawyer of his own, a businessman with a Keen interest in media as well, Sim Katende is steadily growing into a force of his own to reckon with in Kampala’s legal and corporate business circles and we are almost certain over time with him and the new partners at the firm his much revered father co-founded, they will keep the flag really up high besides Sim making moves of his own as well to chart out his own path in the world of business.
Currently heading the Corporate, Banking and Commercial Department of KAT’s Advocates with his boardroom prowess already being felt as board Chairman of Britam Asset Managers, Sim Katende’s grasp of things in high places is being sharpened by the day as his grip on proceedings in the Katende empire also gets firmer.
Brian Kavuya
Do not be misled by his rather childish innocent smile and brief stature. Brian Kavuya is the son to leading city Businessman Ben Kavuya whose interests have grown overtime from ranching and commodity distribution to prime real estate development and manufacturing.
With the young Brian Kavuya watching closely as his astute business mogul of a dad delicately maneuvered every step to the top, he surely picked up a number of lessons some of which he is already putting in practice as he helps the Father run his enterprises currently.
Brian Kavuya comfortably occupies the Managing Director position of the family’s Legacy Group companies headquartered on Windsor Crescent in the uptown swanky old money suburb of Kololo.
Legacy Group is a solid holding company with its interests firmly entrenched in commodity distribution, ranching, Credit Finance and Properties development which it is most known for.
A graduate of Africa’s top University the University of Cape town, Brian holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and also serves as MD of East African Medical Vitals Limited a leading manufacturer of medical consumables based in Namanve Industrial park.
For the Kavuya empire, it’s patriarch Ben Kavuya can rest easily as he is more than certain the future of a business he painstakingly built from a distributor franchise and farm in western Uganda into a diversified holding company with interests in real estate, industry and finance is surely in safe hands going forward.
Rajiv Ruparelia
Probably the most controversial and famous of the gents on this list, Rajiv Ruparelia is the son to Uganda’s richest man according to Forbes Magazine Sudhir Ruparelia.
His early years were tumultuous, I think like most teens andyoung adults he was in his rebellious streak however he has since come around and grown into a responsible Executive who even easily represents his Father in key meetings and makes the big decisions when called upon.
It must be a sigh of relief whenever Senior Ruparelia sees how much Rajiv has turned himself around for better and so does every one else who wishes the Ruparelia empire good going forward.
In 2017, Ravij was finally appointed Managing Director of Ruparelia group taking over the day to day running of over 28 different businesses that comprise their family empire with his parents focused more on strategic oversight. His sister Sheena runs the hotels arm of the business.
With a mother who is not so much in our faces but very astute with the numbers and sisters who are equally reliable Executives in their own right, Rajiv only has one option become the best of himself and push their family business which is one of Kampala’s largest property owners, developers and one of the most formidable business conglomerates in Uganda today to even greater heights.
Musa Mugeera
In the heart of Kawempe industrial area is a company that has stood the test of time and weathered many storms to ensure it is still a going concern today and that is non other than Luuka Plastics Limited under the stewardship of Billionaire Entrepreneur Badru Muwanga who is the company’s Founder and still serves as it’s board Chairman to date.
Luckily for him, his son Musa Mugeera has steadily risen through the ranks from down up at Luuka plastics having started as a trainee in operations, risen to Head of Operations and now an Executive Director at the company putting him with in touching distance from the corner office.
A graduate of ICT from Kyambogo University, Mugeera has since gone on to join the coveted ACCA Affiliate club of Accountants all of which add to his multiple skills and experience in managing manufacturing operations that span a decade and a half plus.
Luuka plastics too has since grown into a conglomerate as well to include export, textile, packaging products, manufacturing and real estate among other businesses all of which Musa has a decent grasp of and can certainly carry the Chairman’s load when the time comes.
Inga Kutesa
In 2021 when Inga Kutesa then 39 years of age got appointed Honorary Consul of the Sultanate of Oman in Uganda, it was a sign written in the air that Inga Kutesa was steadily growing into his own which many missed or ignored as they chose to be negative.
Well negative or not he is Inga Kutesa first born son to political and diplomatic titan Hon. Sam Kutesa who chose to leave the scene in 2021 after having one of his daughters Shartis Musherure Kutesa replace him as Mawogola county MP and another one Ishta Muganga being named Israel’s Honorary Consul to Uganda earlier in 2019.
And all of that is just one side of the coin of Sam Kahamba Kutesa a former UN General Assembly President and long serving Foreign Affairs Minister of Uganda who is also known for being one of the most astute and ruthless business titans in the region although he loves to stay out of the picture.
Well for his beloved son Inga those are quite big shoes to fill surely but Inga is already holding his own running a couple of successful businesses of his own out of his Kololo based office.
And with his elder very brilliant sisters well placed inside the corridors of power and the world of Business too, running the Kutesa empire when the time comes will not be so much of a hustle for him, he can always call onto his brilliant siblings including young brother Isaac Kutesa and elder sisters Ishta, Charlotte and Shartis when need arises.
Whether it is legal, political, financial, diplomatic or any other issue their larger than life dad has laid sufficient ground for the Kutesas to be titans of the future in whichever sphere they choose to venture into besides doing his best to groom them right too, a feat he should be highly appreciated for given he has been a very busy dad as far as we can all remember until just 3 years back when he decided to step back from the big stage.
Dinah Mukasa
Practicing law at one of old school and more established law firms in Kampala Byenkya Kihika and Company Advocates is certainly not a small way to equip yourself with the skills needed to navigate your way into being the next big business titan, CEO or Executive.
More brilliant than your average lady around town, Cousnel Dinah Mukasa is one that will surely step up if she is ever called upon by her Father renowned chicken feeds maker and brooder Samuel Mukasa Founder of Biyinzika Enterprises and Biyinzika International Limited which was sold off and the business mogul started another company Tyson Feeds that has hit really hard times recently.
However hard times do happen in big business and some times going down, really down to be specific is the best way to come up again.
So as seasoned Entrepreneur Samuel Mukasa also known as Biyinzika navigates what looks like a sinking ship back to safety and smooth sailing, his University of Nottingham educated lawyer daughter who has grown through the ranks of private law practice to become a partner at the Jinja road based corporate law firm Byenka Kihika and Company Advocates will surely come in handy if he ever has to look into his immediate family to take charge of his business when his time in the game is done.
Dinah is also already a Director in Biyinzika Enterprises Limited so she is involved in the running of the family business alongside her flourishing career in legal practice and together with her brother Isaac Mukasa a Director at Biyinzika and an Executive Director at another company owned by the Mukasa family Tyson Feeds Limited, they will surely take the family business places in the years to come.
Rukmini Bonthala Babu
Rukmini Bonthala Babu will come as a shocker for many on this list but if you have come across any product distributed by Kiboko Group of companies or made by Abacus Pharma then you shouldn’t be shocked she is on this list.
The daughter of Ramesh Bonthala Babu the Managing Director of Kiboko Group of Companies, Rukmini is already walking in her Father’s footsteps as she is already an Executive Director at Kiboko Group and Abacus Pharma.
Already sitting on the Advisory Board of African Women and Girls an International NGO operating in Uganda, her leadership and entrepreneurial credentials are not in doubt.
She also has a good understanding of things health, diet and yoga and does have a business of her own geared towards turning her passion for those aspects into an income while training other health coaches like her self and helping people with diet issues online.
And with the Kiboko Group and it’sister companies growing by the day, there is no doubt room is reserved for her at the top and whenever her time comes she will effortlessly fit in given she is learning from the best that is her Dad Ramesh Babu and his business partners who are steadily turning Kiboko Group into a business power house across East Africa.
Mark Senabulya
Mark Senabulya is a Civil Engineer by profession who gained some valuable experience after school working for an established consulting firm in his field before he fully switched to working with his business savvy parents Margaret and Robert Ssekide the power Couple behind the Seroma Hardware distribution power house that has grown from just being one of the top hardware dealerships in the country to a construction and real estate powerhouse of its own.
He has a quiet demeanor more like his Father who quietly and firmly leads this business juggernaut while smartly staying away from the media.
The Sekiddes already had mastered the game and business savvy was never their problem so when they got the gift of a son who is bringing the technical aspects of construction to the board room of Seroma, the sky will not be the limit any more.
And when the time comes to hand down the business to the next generation, Senabulya becomes the point man here after all he is stringing together everything needed to keep the business afloat as he works along his more than capable parents.
With his other siblings especially the girls involved in other aspects of the family businesses too and his more famous elder Brother Alexander Medical centre founder and CEO Dr. Castrol Kisule, Seroma is not about to lack capable hands to push the empire forward unless calamity beyond human measure and endeavor strikes this good company that has been built brick by brick from down up.
Maanan Madhvani
Coming from one of the old money conservative Indian families whose legacy dates back to pre independence Uganda, Maanan Madhvani and all the Madhvanis of his generation have really big shoes to fill.
Already a Director in a number of Madhvani companies including Equator Shipping line, Nilefos Minerals and his own Nile Polo safaris, Manaan who took on the prestigious sport of polo from his dad Nitin Madhvani the Chairman of Madhvani International SA also a director in many other businesses, Maanan has done well to grow the sport with his younger brother Hrishi Madhvani making the Kakira Nile invitational polo tournament a must attend for Uganda’s high society surely has some of what it takes to turn that prowess on the field into boardroom success.
Strategically daring and willing to venture into unchartered waters like they have done growing polo from scratch as a sport in Uganda, Maanan will surely be one to watch as the 4th generation Madhvanis get into the board rooms, learn the strings of big business and ultimately take over from their ageing parents.
Khushboo Vadodaria Hernandez
Generational businesses and the culture of family business succession seem to be long established norms with in the Indian Business community in Uganda and across the globe while locally there is still a struggle to entrench it.
This seems to be the same case with Rishi Vadodaria and Dr. Meena Vadodaria the savy and conservative founding Entrepreneurs behind Rene Industries a leading manufacturer of pharmaceutical products in Uganda with a growing Export market across East Africa as well.
Going forward they already have their daughter Khushboo Vadodaria high up in the company’s ranks as Operations director a position which means she literally runs almost all the company’s day to day operations.
And having been by her parents’ side watching them navigate the intricacies of manufacturing pharmaceutical products over time navigating Rene Industries into one of the big players in that industry, she surely has readily capable hands that can take over the family Enterprise when her parents’ time is up.
Oliver Lalani
Son to one of the most respected Billionaire Entrepreneurs in Uganda Sikander Lalanis of the famous Roofings group, Oliver Lalani is proving to be a ‘man of steel just like his Father.
Oliver Lalani joined his Father’s company Roofings Group after his studies back in 2009 rising through the ranks to the position of Executive Director in 2019 a position he still holds to date.
As a ‘man of steel’ with close to 4 decades of experience in the industry under his belt, Dr. Sikander Lalani must be parting himself on the shoulder for not only building Uganda’s largest fully integrated steel making company but also grooming himself a capable successor in Oliver when his time at the helm of the business is finally done.