Sudhir Ruparelia, an accomplished businessman, has advised budding entrepreneurs to be consistent, patient and to stick to their vision is they are to succeed in business.
Speaking at the official launch of Dr Innocent Nahabwe's book, Treating Small Businesses, Sudhir said he personally started small but has grown big because of patience.
“I started out with $25,000. This country has been good to me and I have been good to it. We now employ over 8,000 people,” he said.
Sudhir is now worth at least $1 billion and is ranked among the richest in East Africa
Sudhir said wherever he looks, there are opportunities advising the young entrepreneurs to "grab them."
He said there is no single formula to success because we were all born different individuals.
“There are over seven billion people in the world but everyone is different. Can you show me your duplicate even among the 40 million in Uganda? Do something for yourself. You are all individuals. All of you have journeys and missions. Think of the gift God has given you. You have no duplicate. How to deal with your destiny is in your hands,” he said.
He said forming partnerships is good for business but one must carefully evaluate the people they do business with.
“Many partnerships in Europe are 200 to 300 years old. 90 percent of the partnerships in Africa die during the second generation. You need to think beyond your generation. How does the business move on from there?” he cautioned.
He admitted that he has not had very good experiences with partnerships.
Nahabwe, the author and a budding businessman, gave a brief history of his business journey saying along the way he had encountered challenges which he had surmounted.
He paid tribute to the people who have contributed to his business success right from the time he finished university to today.
A trained veterinary doctor, Nahabwe a serial entrepreneur with businesses like Galaxy FM, Club Amnesia, Blue Cube and betting firm Kagwirawo.
“One of the main reasons for writing and publishing this book is to inspire Ugandans out there to take on this entrepreneurship journey without fear. If we each employed two to three people, we would change Uganda quickly,” he said.