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Alykhan Karmali is a businessman, entrepreneur, industrialist, and philanthropist in Uganda. He is the managing director of Mukwano Industries Uganda Limited, a member company of the Mukwano Group. He also serves as a non-executive director of Exim Bank (Uganda), a commercial bank in which the Mukwano Group maintains 36.5 percent shareholding.
Background
Ali Mohamed Karmali, Alykhan's paternal grandfather, was an entrepreneur of Indian descent who migrated to Uganda circa 1904. He worked as a shop assistant in Jinja before shifting to Mbarara in Uganda's Western Region. Later, he settled in Bukandula in the Mpigi District in the Central Region, where, "in partnership with other Asian families, he did a roaring trade in cotton and coffee". He had so many friends that locals nicknamed him "Mukwano gwa bangi" (Friend of many). The family shortened it to "Mukwano" and named the family business after him.
Amirali Karmali, Alykhan's father, was born in Bukandula in the 1930s. He later relocated to Kampala and continued to grow the business. In 1995, Amirali handed over the family business to his son.