The Chanrai family is one of the most successful and respected business houses in West Africa, operating in the region since 1900. The Chanrai Summit Group has various businesses in trading, manufacturing and asset managment with presence in Nigeria, Ghana, Dubai, India and Singapore. Established in 1860, the Group was restructured in 1978 leading to (the late) Seth Mithu Chanrai becoming its patriarch. Today, it is co-owned by his three sons Jagdish, Sunder and Subodh with the support of a team of qualified professionals.
Jagdish Mithu Chanrai, the eldest son, is a passionate entrepreneur and has supported the Group’s businesses for over 50 years (since 1968) through roles in business strategy, financial controls and compliance matters – beginning as CEO of a textile mill in Nigeria in 1974. His financial acumen and emphasis on financial controls & discipline has been an asset to the Group along with his experience and passion for business. As an avid data user to make informed judgments and profitable investments, he has helped enhance his family’s innate business sense by emphasizing the need for detailed analyses provided by qualified professionals to support decisions.
His brother Sunder has grown the business in Spain successfully with a strong talent for administration and team leadership. Subodh, his youngest brother, heads the West African businesses with a marked gift in building relationships and securing business deals.
Both business and philanthropy contribute to the economy,
benefitting the individual, society and country.
~JM Chanrai
The Group has built several businesses in West Africa in consumer durables and non-durables, pharmaceuticals, commodities and more, concentrating on route-to-market solutions and contract logistics. Today, it is a multi-faceted company distributing products that people use everyday; it operates in appliances, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), automotive tires, food, pharmaceuticals, and production under license. The Group’s focus continues to be Africa with expansion into the global arena by forging relationships with world class multi-nationals and other partners.
It trades and operates in various names across the sphere of its business interests, with its flagship company being the Fareast Mercantile Co. Ltd – Nigeria (FMCL). This main subsidiary has the exclusive rights to represent over 30 global brands. It has diversified into distribution, manufacturing, and retail with a range of products. This product portfolio is managed with a capable professional team, robust infrastructure and strong delivery systems to ensure availability of products across the country of operation.
In addition to his business profile, JM Chanrai has actively managed his family’s resources through financial and other investments. He set up the asset management business which has served the family well. It also forms the foundation of their philanthropic activities – Caring Capitalism®. To manage this portfolio, he set-up a family office with presence in Mumbai, India, and Dubai, UAE which is managed by highly qualified and experienced professionals.
The thrust of JM Chanrai’s asset management strategy has been wealth preservation. Accordingly, his portfolio is managed conservatively through mainly predominantly income products. The assets are mainly invested in developed markets, with select and opportunistic investments in emerging markets. Deeply interested in following macro economic trends, evolving global policies and their impact on businesses, JM Chanrai uses this skill to manage the investments of the family’s resources. He is always looking for new opportunities to invest.
Two brothers, Jhamatmal and Thakurdas Chanrai, set up a textile trading operation in Sindh, which was then a part of undivided India.
The business flourishes and spreads to Karachi and Bombay (now Mumbai), expanding to textiles and handicraft.
The decade saw the first steps towards expanding beyond India with the opening of a shop in Malta, providing a stepping-stone to Gibraltar of Great Britain, Canary Islands in Spain and Morocco in North Africa.
This marked the start of 20 years of rapid growth, with particular focus on trading in smaller cities and towns like Ceuta, Spain and Tangier, Morocco.
Africa became the next continent to get a foothold. During this time, operations were established in Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria.
Rapid expansion of the business saw further venturing this time into South America with operations in Argentina, followed by Brazil and Chile.
The next generation of Chanrais rose to take over the mantle of leadership as Jhamatmal and Thakurdas passed the baton to their sons. This new generation, as enterprising as their fathers, set up their base in Bombay (now Mumbai).
The new generation of Chanrais expanded their reach to Yokohama and Kobe, Japan. They then took over a silk business in Singapore and followed up by starting operations in Saigon, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Canton.
A branch was established in Madras (now Chennai). Here the Chanrai family pioneered the export of the famous "Madras checkered" handkerchief to West Africa, where the product became hugely popular.
India’s partitioning necessitated the Chanrai family to move its base from Pakistan to Bombay (now Mumbai) in India. This heralded a new era in the Chanrai family: that of the dissolution of the partnership (joint family business) into 6 distinct Groups, each of which benefited from an equal share of the firm’s assets.
Further restructuring, led to (the late) Seth Mithu Chanrai becoming the patriarch of the Chanrai Summit Group.
The Chanrai Summit Group is co-owned by his three sons Jagdish, Sunder and Subodh with the support of a team of qualified professionals.
Establish Caring Capitalism®
as a universally accepted
philosophy.
Leverage business successes
to eradicate curable blindness
and reduce poverty.
Privacy Policy | © All Rights Reserved | 2020
