Atul Nemchand Shah
Managing Director
Nakumatt Holdings | Nairobi (KENYA)
Native:
Jamnagar (Gujarat)
Birth:
Kisumu (KENYA)
Residence:
Nairobi (KENYA)
You Need It, We’ve Got It
Some People Wish it Would Happen, Others Make it Happen
Mr. Atul Shah, popularly known as Haku, is the managing director of Nakumatt Holdings also referred to as the Supermarket King of Kenya. His statement “We sell everything and anything except planes & if we had space we would sell that too” shows his confidence and positivity. A man who was never deterred by obstacles Mr. Shah always worked to improve the performance and get better solutions and he can inspire many how to look for an opportunity and capitalize on it.
You Can Do the Impossible Because You Have Been Through the Unimaginable
On April 6, 1961 Mr. Shah was born at Kisumu in Kenya to Mrs. ___ (mother name) ___ & Mr. Nemchand Shah and is their youngest child. He recalls that he was barely ten years old when he acquired a very strong interest in retail trade. His first job was as a shelf stocker and general shop assistant at his father’s shop where he used to help on all fronts and these early experiences helped him in becoming an all-rounder retailer at heart. In the mid-sixties and early seventies, trade in mattresses’, foldable beds and bed sheets remained a booming business and the wholesale and retail trade sector has shown a reasonable growth. This has contributed in exponential growth of Nakumatt Holdings. Now Mr. Shah desires to be the best retailer in Africa providing value for my customers across diverse markets and in fact this vision is embodied in his future strategy and it has been his driving force. The hard work put in by Nakumatt’s 5,500 employees, hundreds of suppliers and associates have always inspired him to do more and better.
Change Your Focus from Making More Money to Serving More People, As Serving More People Makes Money Come In
Besides being a Supermarket King, Mr. Shah has been playing a key role in social development and has been involved in various social welfare activities. Recently he had the chance to represent east Africa at the London Olympic Games as an Olympic torch bearer. He was also nominated through Samsung Electronics to help raise awareness on the positive aspects of Kenya region and its entrepreneurial capacity. He shares that he is proud of his Gujarati roots but at the same time he is son of east Africa in heart and soul and he feels that best thing about Kenya is its people. He believes that sports rather than politics can play a pivotal role in bringing lot of exposure to East Africa in terms of tourism and investment etc. He has been to three football World Cups, three Olympics and three Cricket events. He believes that sports can do wonders to the economy of the country. So he hopes for Vision – 2030 or the Kenya’s long term economic development blueprint has provisions for infrastructure development and other facilities that the world cup requires.
Best Way to Predict Your Future is to Create it
When asked what are his future plans he said that he plans to nurture the next generation of retail leaders across Africa. He has played a pivotal role in establishing Kenya’s first Retail Management Training Academy at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Karen Campus. He has earned recognition as the Price Waterhouse Coopers’ (PWC) Most Respected Company in the Service Sector for three years in a row. According to him the success he has achieved so far is because of the entire Nakumatt fraternity and firm belief in God. He says that almighty God has guided his paths and he has continued personal and corporate discipline firmly anchored on serving the stakeholders with integrity and respect.
Mr. Shah is the managing director of Nakumatt Holdings, one of east Africa’s largest supermarket chains and was named by the Financial Times of London as one of the top 50 emerging market business leader and his biggest dream is to mobilise global support for the hosting of the Soccer World Cup 2030 tournament in East Africa besides the hosting of Cricket World Cup 2031 and the Olympics in 2032, in the city of Nairobi.
My Father My Inspiration
According to Mr. Shah he had joined the retail trade because of his father late Mr. Nemchand Shah’s passion for retail. He feels that his father taught him the ropes of retail trade and provided a solid grounding for his career. He feels that he has been working very hard to live his father’s dream and expand the horizons for retail trade in Africa. Atul Shah shares that his father Mr. Nemchand Shah had left Jamnagar to scale the highest heights of commodity retailing and he explored different parts of Kenya for bigger challenges and business prospects and he was a devoted business mentor and supported numerous small scale traders. However, it soon turned out it was not a healthy business practice and he suffered a financial setback in 1976 and had to wind up his business. Later Mr. Nemchand Shah joined his cousin who was also operating Beddings and Mattress products shop known as Nakuru Mattresses and later he acquired the entire business when his cousin opted to immigrate to the United Kingdom. This Nakuru Mattresses was the foundation that led to the formation of Nakumatt Holdings, one of east Africa’s largest supermarket chains.
Mr. Atul Jogani’s Gujarat
Gujarat can realise its potential as there are numerous natural resources, which one can exploit for common good.
1. What comments do you have to make for the future development of Gujarat?
2. How do you see Gujarat 20 years hence?
3. What should be the points of focus to take into consideration by the People & Government of Gujarat for its development?
Message for Youth :
He has a very simple advice for the young and aspiring individuals, he says that one should always acquire virtues like hard work, honesty and persistence which are the important ingredients for success. This is really essential as nothing comes easy!
Rich Family Values
Mr. Shah is married to Harsha and they have two sons, Neel & Ankoor. Both his sons are now actively involved in Nakumatt expansion and regional development. Mr. Neel Shah is a graduate of the London School of Economics and is currently serving as a Business Development Manager at Nakumatt Group. Mr. Ankoor Shah is an Engineering graduate of the University of Warwick, and serves as Projects manager at Nakumatt Group.
Gallery
ISBN : 9788192722146