Mr. Ramchand Udharam Mohinani, Chairman of the Mohinani Group of Companies, was honoured with the lifetime Entrepreneur/Achievement Award at the 2nd Ghana Entrepreneur Awards and Dinner 2011, held at the State House on April 22nd, 2012.

The event, organized by the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and Delloitte and Touche, aimed at recognizing the

outstanding achievements of Ghanaian and resident foreign entrepreneurs who have excelled in developing successful businesses, employment generation, and contributing to the growth of the country’s economy.

Beside Mr. Mohinani picking up the ultimate award on the night, thirty entrepreneurs were also awarded for playing various roles in the development of Ghana’s economy through their entrepreneurial adventures.

Ramchand Udharam Mohinani is the founder and chairman of the Mohinani Group of Companies. Born in India, he moved to Ghana in 1957 with a few colleagues to establish a franchise for a trading entity in Ghana. He is married to his wife Sheela and blessed with three sons: Ashok, Anil, and Sunil.

He established a number of successful manufacturing companies in Ghana. These include Ghana’s first polyethylene factory in 1966, Poly Products Ghana Limited, the flagship of the Mohinani Group of Companies, to support the packaging and processing industry. In 1976, he established Poly Sacks (Ghana) Limited to produce polypropylene packaging for the agroprocessing industry. In the 1990s, he created two more factories that have become huge household names: Polytank (Ghana) Limited, and Poly Kraft (Ghana) which have an enormous portfolio of products including water tanks, PET, PVC bottles, and other multiple products meant for packaging a wide range of consumer goods, including fish, alcoholic beverages, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, etc.

He diversified into the trade and distribution sector by establishing Somotex (1986), Somovision (1999), and Uniwell (1993). These units specialise in the distribution of consumer electronics, home appliances, tyres amongst others, with representation of key brands such as LG Electronics, Philips domestic appliances, etc.

He entered the real estate industry in 2005 with the establishment of South West Estates & Tourism (Ghana) Limited, and its first development is the Arabella Residency at Cantonments.

He went ahead to form Alliance Estates, a construction outfit established to have a foothold in the hospitality industry. They have started constructing a new hotel, Protea Hotel Select, in Takoradi, a four-star accommodation that, when completed, is expected to have 136 rooms and 12 two-bedroom apartments for short stays.

In 2010, the Group secured the franchise to run KFC restaurants in Ghana, and the first two restaurants opened at Oxford Street, Osu, and Melcom Plus in the North Industrial Area of Accra in 2011.

The Mohinani Group has extended its reach beyond the shores of Ghana with operations in London, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Tanzania, etc. The diverse activities of these companies provide employment directly to over 2,000 people across the country and a global work force of over 3000 people.

The Group earlier won the National Good Corporate Citizen Award in recognition of its social responsibility, which includes a donation of $100,000.00 (one hundred thousand dollars) to the School of Health Sciences at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, scholarships, sponsorship of national social events, and proper plastic waste management advocacy.

Story: Lennox Amagyei-Antw