Hi Everyone,
Wishing everyone a stronger, richer, wiser, happier, and healthier 2026. May we face the zig-zags of life with equanimity and ease.
From a business perspective, 2025 was a year of consolidation for us in Africa. We exited businesses in the DRC, Zambia, and Malawi that had struggled for nearly a decade. Reeling from currency devaluations in Nigeria and Ghana in 2024, we took a hard look at ourselves, embraced bold ideas, and made some necessary pruning decisions.
That said, there were several extraordinary and noteworthy milestones worth recording:
- Pav and Arlenne becoming proud parents to a healthy baby boy, Pallas, in New York – and making us proud grandparents.
- Neeraj successfully foraying into property development in Dubai with his maiden large-scale commercial project, Vista Grove – a modern office park development. Its success will firmly establish the group and family office in the UAE and pave the way for long-term growth across the GCC and Africa.
- Academic City University receiving its full university charter and securing an extraordinary partnership as Tetr Business School’s Africa partner, welcoming over 100 students to Ghana for a full-semester program.
- Nand Kumar starting our first surgical bandages factory in Mozambique.
- KAS Bio in Tanzania coming of age and winning contracts from MSD Tanzania to manufacture test strips for medical diagnostics.
- Uganda moving ahead with plans to build its own distribution center for pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
- Nigeria and Ghana finally experiencing a steady year, with encouraging currency improvements that we hope will support a decade of sustained growth.
- We are also excited that Taran has decided to formally join the group and spend time traveling across our African businesses. With fresh eyes, a young mind, and genuine enthusiasm for Africa, we look forward to seeing what he chooses to pivot on.
Looking ahead to 2026, we will continue to build on our winning strategies while remaining disciplined and keeping losses small. Sunny and I expect to take our chips off the table in about three years, when we turn 70. We look forward to leadership from Ratan, Rajesh, Sunil, Fred, Nand, Binod, Neeraj, Pawan, and Taran, ably supported by strong local management teams across Africa (and possibly AI) as they build a strong future for the group.
Thank you all for walking this journey with us.
