Dr. Paul Marett
In the coming months Meghjibhai continued to work hard in his employers' business. It was a good job with a good salary and he liked his work, demanding though it might be. He enjoyed the confidence of his employers, the friendship and esteem of his colleagues and the respect of his subordinates. His early success had given him confidence but it also began to stir fresh ambitions in his mind. From the time of leaving India he had in mind to establish his own business in East Africa at the earliest opportunity and it seemed that perhaps the time had come to do so. True, there were attractions in the security of a steady salaried job, and the kindness of his employers and colleagues made him in some ways unwilling to leave the firm of Kanji Mepa and Co. But he had, in fact, given up a salaried position at home (though certainly a very modest one) to come to Kenya: if he wanted a job like that he could have stayed at home, and perhaps he could have improved his prospects in India. He might have sought employment in a town without venturing so far abroad.
If he were going to strike out on his own the sooner he did so the better. His two and a half years with the firm had equipped him well to run his own business and now, though still not quite eighteen years old, he was far more mature and knowledgeable than most young men of his age. But it was a big step to contemplate, to throw up a secure position for the uncertainties of an independent business. However, the decision was precipitated when the firm, for which he worked, Kanji Mepa and Co., got into difficulties and closed down. Meghjibhai moved to Nairobi and had his first taste of working in an independent business of his own. This was a very modest start. Meghjibhai and one Premchand Doshi would order various goods, baskets and the like, from Mombasa and sell them at a small profit in Nairobi. This is a long time ago now and the details are not quite clear but it seems that, whether at this stage, or perhaps a little later when the family business started, Meghjibhai obtained a revolving credit with a firm in Mombasa to purchase goods wholesale from that firm's stock. The amount was probably up to Rs.1,500. This can hardly have been with his former employers as the firm had gone out of business but may well have been with business associates or connections of Kanji Mepa.
The partnership with Premchand Doshi did not last very long for Meghjibhai' s family now gave him his next opportunity. Meghjibhai's elder brother, Raichandbhai, had come to Kenya about a year before Meghjibhai and worked for the Lakha Lakhamshi Company in Limuru some twenty miles from Nairobi. Later their younger brother Vaghjibhai joined them in Africa. Meghjibhai's plan was to set up an independent family business. The brothers were close to each other and discussed the scheme thoroughly. It was, of course, a family matter: Meghjibhai's ambitions were for the benefit of his family, not just for his personal interest. His brothers supported the plan to establish an independent business. But they needed capital to set up on their own. Meghjibhai had managed, by strict economy, to save a little from his salary over the previous two and a half years but all his savings had been sent back to his parents in India. However, once the brothers had decided to go into business, Meghjibhai was not the sort to be deflected from his purpose. If he had no available capital in cash he had accumulated assets in a less tangible, but perhaps more valuable, form. The reputation, which he had established over the past two and a half to three years, formed his most valuable asset. He approached some people who knew of his reputation and ability and raised the sum of fourteen pounds and two shillings, equivalent to 185 rupees, for the new enterprise. Even allowing for the change in the value of money since the early nineteen-twenties, this was a very modest sum. It had to cover the essential basic costs of setting up the business. It may be assumed that Meghjibhai' s standing in his community was good enough, notwithstanding his youth (he was still not quite eighteen), for him to continue to obtain credit from his suppliers. This meant, of course, that turnover had to be fairly fast if the suppliers were to be paid before they started pressing for payment and credit were to remain good. At any rate, with this small capital the independent business of Raichand Brothers, named after the senior partner, was set up on 1st September 1922. Although the new firm was named after his elder brother, Meghjibhai was the driving force behind it. But all three brothers worked with unity and dedication for its success. It was their first enterprise. There was no looking back. Upon their success depended the welfare of the whole family. The religious faith, which they had inherited from their parents Pethrajbhai and Ranibai, sustained them, but equally they had endless confidence in their own efforts. Meghjibhai was often heard to say that 51 per cent of a man's success depends on his fate and 49 per cent depends on his own efforts. Over his fate man has no control so his individual efforts are all the more important.
These early years, from 1922 to about 1930 are crucial to our understanding of how Meghjibhai's business interests developed. Sixty years later we may wonder how a young boy could come to East Africa with virtually no money, and leave after thirty-five years with a very large fortune. In some ways, of course, the times were favourable to a young man of enterprise and ability, ready to work hard at his business. East Africa was enjoying peace and prosperity, and the colonial government (whatever faults we may ascribe to colonialism from our very different viewpoint of the nineteen-eighties) was concerned to develop the three territories. Kenya, with useful natural resources, a favourable climate and possibilities for development of important natural products, attracted investment in capital, entrepreneurship, and downright hard work, both by the Asian community and also by British companies and settlers. In these circumstances, members of the Indian community were able to carve out a niche in East African business for themselves. By and large the Africans were not interested in business. The Europeans came as settlers, developing farming with African labour, on a fairly large scale, of export products ranging from coffee to (it may seem a little odd to us today now that fashions have changed, though the trade still continues on a small scale) ostrich feathers. Other Europeans were involved in banking and finance or shipping, as well as in fairly large industrial commercial undertakings. That meant that the important area of small to medium size business was left to the Asian (and that meant, in fact, Indian) community. With very low overheads, prepared to operate from small, often primitive premises, and to live in cramped quarters behind the shop, working inordinately long hours, and with close family and community links, the Indians were able to undercut the European undertakings with their highly-paid managers expecting the high standard of living which the Englishman overseas had come to accept as his right, and with high overheads. Thus, from a very simple base the enterprising Indian businessman in Kenya could often build up a moderately prosperous business. In a few cases, a man of outstanding ability, dedication and business acumen, such as Meghjibhai, could go further and enter eventually the really big league of those whose names are still revered by the Asian community of East Africa today. Meghji Pethraj Shah is still a well-known and respected name in Nairobi and men such as Mr. A.R. Shah, Mr. S.P. Shah and Mr. B. T. Gathani, all prominent figures in the business community, remember him well and provided much of the information to be found in the following pages.
