Uganda Packaging: An Exclusive Interview with Leading Entrepreneur Rajesh Chaplot of Graphic Systems

Interview with Rajesh Chaplot, General Manager of Graphic Systems Uganda and Managing Director of Manglam Africa

What is your scope of business and your background?

I came from India to Congo in 1996. I am a chartered accountant, so I was a finance manager at Graphic Systems Congo. I came to Uganda in 1998 along with our director and we started Graphic Systems, which is the biggest in packaging not only in Uganda but in East Africa. We also do advertising material production and we produce textile material for the corporates. Then, we expanded with some different shareholders. I am also managing Fabrication Systems where we do civil construction, metal fabrication works, and we have the franchise of Otis Elevator for Uganda. There is another company called Crown Packaging which was established four years ago where we work with the beverage industries. Nine years ago, we also opened a company for the IT and BPO sector which is called Cameo Techedge in Congo and the call centers and BPO work mostly for telecom companies. There is another company called Manglam Africa which is owned by me for warehousing in Uganda. Apart from those companies, I have been active in various business organizations in Uganda. I was on the Board of Directors for six years on the Uganda Manufacturers’ Association. I am currently on the Board of Directors of the Private Sector Foundation which is the apex body for all private sector businesses in Uganda. I am a business advisor and I am chairing a committee for the President of Uganda on competitiveness and ease of doing business in Uganda. We meet with His Excellency the President every six months and we bring our business issues and concerns to him so that he can help us and guide us. I was the past Chairman of the Indian Association and also of the Indian Business Forum in Uganda.

What are your competitive advantages? How do you distinguish yourself? What do you bring that is different from other companies?

We have been very professional in our approach for all the companies. We believe in long term strategy. We believe in customer service which is one of the issues in our part of the world where many corporates do not believe so much in the service part of things. Whether our client is small or big, we give equal attention. We have seen the client who is small today become one of the biggest clients after 10 years. So, service is our key. Even if somebody calls us at midnight, our whole team’s telephone lines are open 24 hours for the service of our clients. That has made a big difference in establishing our company in Uganda. Graphic Systems started as a small company. But today, we are a leader, not only in Uganda, but in East Africa, and we export to eight countries. Similarly, in Congo we started with one company, but today, there are four or five telephone companies for whom we are doing 100% of their business in call centers and also in the backend office work.

Are you open to outside investors?

In the current scenario, every business is open for any business offers or discussions. It is not one group where there is a common pool of shareholders. There are different shareholders and there is different ownership in every company. But every company is looking for growth and the right investor to invest, the right technological partner which can open more markets or which can bring more technology.

What have been the key success stories that you are proud of?

We believe in customer service which is one of the issues in our part of the world where many corporates do not believe so much in the service part of things. Whether our client is small or big, we give equal attention.

Eight years ago, I thought that Africa could be a very good center for the BPO industries. I am from India and I have seen how the BPO industry and IT industry has had an impact on the Indian economy. The people in Uganda speak better English, they write better English, they listen in a better way than the Indians. If India can become a center for the BPO, why not Africa? So, we started the BPO in Uganda and in Congo. We were measuring the efficiency through our Indian partner there and we have seen that the efficiency in Africa was much better than India. Also, the staff turnover is a big issue in this particular industry. The staff turnover in Africa, especially in Uganda and Congo, was negligible. So, these two factors we monitored and when we experimented, it proved our expectation. Today, we are growing in our field in Congo. With Graphic Systems, when we came here, everything was being imported from Europe, Kenya or India. There was hardly any local production of the packaging material. But today, we are supplying to most of the companies in Uganda and we are exporting also to quite a few of the neighboring countries. We continue adding more because the packaging industry is a big area for us. There are a lot of products to add on. But Uganda is small, so that is the only issue. We have to be careful because the new technology and machines are very costly. Many times, the market does not accept that big investment. But, we have been successful for all these years.

What are the challenges that the industry faces in the region?

Uganda is a landlocked country. Kenya and Tanzania have ports. Location wise, they may have an advantage, but service is our tool to beat the Kenyan and Tanzanian manufacturers.

Regarding your role in the Indian community, you represent the Indian businessmen. What can the community bring to countries like Uganda and Kenya?

In East Africa and in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the Indian community is contributing more than 60% of the domestic revenue to the governments of all these countries. For more than 100 years, the Indians have been contributing, but a lot more can be done. Most of the companies in East Africa are family owned businesses, but there are many multinational Indian companies, such as Airtel, which has invested in all these countries and is growing and doing better than the domestic market in India is today. The Chinese in the last 10 to 15 years have done well and they are capturing the market.

What awards and distinguishments have you received?

I have received awards from the President of India and also the President of Uganda. The main reason was my contribution to society, either in terms of business or in terms of in social activities. Diwali is a Hindu festival similar to Christmas for Christians. I took an initiative and approached our President in Uganda saying that we should celebrate Diwali at the Statehouse every year because there is a strong Indian community here. I was recognized by the government of India when Prime Minister Modi visited here. He thanked the President for celebrating Diwali with his Indian people in Uganda. It may just be celebrating a festival, but it has a lot of value. When businessmen in India see that Diwali is celebrated by the President of Uganda, they see this as a good destination and a place where Indians are welcome. When the President of Uganda went for a business delegation to India, I accompanied him in the delegation. In my speech, when I informed the business people there that this Diwali celebration is happening in Uganda, they were so happy and excited. I am chairing a business group and I play a business advisory role with the President. I bring to his attention various business issues, concerns, and we propose the solution with every problem. We started the newspaper section about the Indian business houses and the Indian community in New Vision, which is the leading newspaper of Uganda. There are many social charitable activities which we have started such as blood donation from Indian companies.

What is your vision for the company in the medium term, three years’ time?

The market is small in Uganda, so our focus is to export to East Africa. We have been successful in Graphic Systems. Fabrication Systems is a construction company. We have not made serious attempts, though. We have to increase our market share in the country and bring new products, which we have been doing in most of our companies. We are adding new clients, diversification, backward integration, forward integration, and of course, innovation technology needs to be brought in case we want to compete. Time and technology are moving very quickly.

What is your inspiration? What drives you to do what you do?

One philosophy that has been driving me specifically is success. I need success. Whatever project I undertake, whether it sometimes takes a fewer number of years or sometimes it may take quite a number of years, the success has to be achieved. Success and the service to our clients are my two motives.

What is the image of Africa that you would like to present to investors and to the rest of the world?

Uganda is focusing on Buy Uganda Build Uganda. All the world leaders are now talking about localization. Twenty five or thirty years ago, the main motto of the countries was to maximize profit. But today, the world politicians and the leaders are thinking to maximize the well-being of their own people and that is driving the localization back. Twenty five or thirty years ago, the world was shifting their manufacturing base to China because of the low cost of production and taking advantage of debt. During that particular time, China was busy sending its people all over the world, including Africa, India, Australia, and establishing businesses in those countries. We were shifting to China and China was shifting to the world. Today, when all the world leaders are talking about localization, the Chinese businessmen are already there in their country as a local supplier. In most of the African countries, a lot of investment from the Chinese investors has happened. It is a very smart move from them and we all should learn from this. The Buy Uganda Build Uganda policy has been launched and the government is framing laws to ensure that this BUBU policy is being pushed and adopted by the people in the government. So, there are a lot of opportunities because of this localization. As a vendor, as a local supplier, the government of Uganda is ready to support you and protect you through various means like customs duty, excise duty, free land, tax holidays, etc. This is an opportunity for investors to come and invest in Uganda. Africa was traditionally known for hunger, famine, tourism for wildlife, an uneducated population, or tribal war zones. But today, Africa is different. Africa has regulatory bodies and the right policies in place, there are stable governments, Africa has discovered huge natural resources and minerals, there is a huge educated population. Africa is changing. Africa is the right destination to invest at this time. Africa is the future of the world.

For more information, please visit: https://graphicsystems-ea.com.

FAIR USE POLICY
This material (including media content) may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten, or redistributed. However, linking directly to the page (including the source, i.e. Marcopolis.net) is permitted and encouraged.