Tolaram The First 75 Years

THE FIRST 75 YEARS

In honour of Khanchand and his wife, Ishwari

“One day, Tolaram will be a name that will be known around the world”

– Khanchand Vaswani

First published in 2023 by T-Seven Limited.

Word of Art:

Content: Sangeeta Mulchand, Arti Mulchand, Theresa Ellsworth and Samira Siddique

Design: Chris Inton and Lim Siew Yuen

Team Tolaram:

Prisca Hoo, Madhurya Manohar, Sirli Väinsar and Adesuwa Ladoja

Parts of this book draw from interviews conducted by Boss of Me.

Tolaram: The First 75 Years is printed on paper sourced from mills whose forest management practices are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

© T-Seven Limited

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher or author.

FOREWORD

In 1948, Tolaram opened its doors in Malang, the second most populous city in East Java. For Khanchand Vaswani, the store named for his father, Seth Tolaram, represented both a new beginning for the family forced from their homeland by the India-Pakistan partition, and the seed of his dream to take the Tolaram name across the world.

Khanchand was no stranger to Indonesia. Like generations before him, he began his apprenticeship in the textile trade in Surabaya at 16, returning home to Hyderabad, Sindh, where his family resided, every few years. This time, however, would be different: with no homeland to return to, he and his family would sink their roots deep into their adopted land, rebuilding from the ground up.

Over the next 75 years, Tolaram would grow to span four generations and become a multinational organisation with over 20,000 employees across Asia, Africa, and Europe. Its growth would continue to be underpinned by the values that inspired its beginnings: Trust, Respect, Commitment, Courage, and Humility, which guide its decisions, actions and relationships with employees, partners, and customers.

This book chronicles the journey from the 4 metre by 4 metre textile shop in Malang to the international business that Tolaram is today, capturing the motivations and contributions of each generation. Both the family and those who have worked with us over the years have

been stewards of the business, preserving its legacy and ensuring that they bestow to future generations an organisation that is as strong in its prospects as its purpose.

Each chapter delves into a geography that has shaped Tolaram’s history, the opportunities and challenges of each, decisions made, relationships fostered, and lessons learnt along the way. We tell the stories of communities that have embraced us, and for whom we have tried to be a force for good in return.

We also pay tribute to those who have travelled with us. Success does not happen in isolation, and we are grateful to all who have contributed in their own way and become part of the Tolaram family. We acknowledge especially those who stood by us when we stumbled, and worked together with us as we charted better ways forward.

Through the many upheavals, Tolaram has constantly reinvented itself to remain relevant to new markets and changing generations, continually guided by its core values. This story reflects on how these have propelled Tolaram into what it is today, and form the foundation upon which future generations build.

With gratitude, Mohan Vaswani, Padu Aswani, and Vishu Adnani

From left to right, Mohan, Padu, and Vishu

CHAPTER 1

From to Sindh Java

Khanchand,

learnt the ropes of the textile trade as apprentices to their uncles in the family’s retail business in

Khanchand Vaswani, youngest son of Seth Tolaram, is born in Hyderabad, Sindh

Khanchand and Ishwari Bai are married

Khanchand makes his first trip to Surabaya

Sulachni (Kiki) Vaswani is born

Padu Vaswani is born

Mohan Vaswani is born

World War II breaks out; Khanchand is separated from his family

The Partition of India; millions of Hindu refugees flee Sindh

The Vaswani family makes its way to Surabaya via Karachi, Mumbai, Chennai and Singapore

The family moves to Malang, and rents shop space at 127 Jalan Pasar Besar for its fledgling textile business

Tolaram moves to 77 Jalan Pasar Besar

Brothers

Vishindas, Dharamdas and Nawalrai (left to right)

Surabaya

“Most Sindhi men would go overseas to trade. That was the norm. They left for two years, then came back for three months. Some went to Indonesia, some to Hong Kong, some to Burma, some to Japan –all over the world” – Mohan Vaswani

Even before Khanchand Vaswani stepped aboard a British merchant ship to Surabaya for the first time, the family had been making the same journey for more than half a century.

It was 1932, and the northern Indian province of Sindh had been under British rule for almost 90 years. The Bhaibands, an enterprising merchant caste, had been quick to seize the opportunity to expand internationally, establishing their businesses in the major port cities along British trading routes. By the beginning of the 20th century, they laid claim to one of the largest merchant networks spanning the globe, stretching from Kobe in Japan to Panama in Central America, and Singapore in Southeast Asia. In each location, they would begin trading Sindwork1, which had gained popularity with European colonial populations, before moving to products the local markets called for, eventually becoming global middlemen. As businesses grew, each generation provided inroads for the next generation of musafirs2 , inducting sons, nephews and other male kin.

“It was part of our culture for sons to go overseas, and a matter of pride for

1 Carpets, lungis, embroideries and lacquered ware, but also coloured nested boxes known as ajrak, and brass and kansa work from Larkanoo

2 Travellers

3 Brotherhood or clan

parents and grandparents that their men were overseas or had businesses abroad, whether in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Burma or Japan,” says Mohan Vaswani, Chairman of Tolaram and son of its founder, Khanchand Vaswani. “They left for two years, then came back for three months before leaving again.”

Money earned abroad would make its way back home to family in Sindh, and as wealth poured in, cities in the province became a reflection of this success. In Hyderabad, the home city of the Vaswani biradari 3 , spacious bungalows and mansions replaced the pent-roof hovels, and narrow, dusty alleys gave way to broad streetsi . As it gained a reputation as a city of international culture and commerce, different languages and pagris 4 blended in with the brocade topis 5 and cylindrical hats of the Sindhi men roaming the cantonment.

It was in this city that Khanchand grew up, one of six siblings and the youngest of Seth 6 Tolaram’s four sons. From his father, a principled and disciplined physician who would often treat patients for free, he and his siblings would learn selflessness

4 A turban or headscarf

5 A cylindrical skullcap, often embroidered and decorated with pieces of mirrors or gemstones

6 A title for a man of high social status

and charity; from his maternal uncles, successful traders and merchants, he would learn the intricacies of the textile trade. Both the spirit of entrepreneurship and philanthropy would form the foundation of the family business he would found in 1948 in the Indonesian city of Malang, and name Tolaram, after his father.

Expanding horizons

By the time 17-year-old Khanchand first joined his brothers and maternal uncles for the eight-week journey to Indonesia, the family had established a thriving textile retail business in Surabaya, with a presence in cities across Java.

“My grandma’s family started a textile retail business in Indonesia, with shops in Surabaya and Malang,” recalls Mohan. “They asked my eldest uncle, Dharamdas, to grow the business, so he went there in the early 1900s. Then my second uncle left to start his own business, then my third uncle, followed by my father.”

Shortly before leaving for Surabaya for the first time, Khanchand married Ishwari, the daughter of family friends, in an arranged marriage. Apprenticing with his uncles halfway across the world, Khanchand learnt the nuances of the retail trade, returning to Sindh every two years to his growing family – daughters Sulachni and Padu, and son Mohan.

The success of the four Vaswani brothers abroad meant that life for the extended family in Sindh was comfortable. “We owned a big two-storey house – my sisters, my mother, my aunt, my cousin and I used to live on the same floor. There was a tenant above us. We also had an office where my grandfather practised traditional medicine,” says Mohan.

But Khanchand had his eye on bigger things. He wanted to be independent, and he wanted to be in the Indonesian capital. “Surabaya was number two, but Jakarta was a prime business centre,” says Mohan. In the next few years, he realised both ambitions, opening two retail shops in Jakarta.

In Hyderabad, muddy alleys and hovels gave way to broad streets and multistorey family homes (Photo: British Library Board/Photo 940/1(37)

Pakka Qilla, one of Hyderabad’s most prominent architectural landmarks, was built in the late 1760s. (Source: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)

SINDH: INDUS VALLEY JEWEL

By the time the British arrived in Sindh in 1843, the province had been a trading hub for almost 4,000 years, enjoying particularly brisk trade with Mesopotamia. Later, in 350 BC, Alexander the Great would find, in the southern Sindh city of Patala, a global centre of business, manufacturing, culture, and learning, and decide to build a dockyard there. Venetian explorer and writer Marco Polo (1254-1324), who travelled the Silk Road, wrote of ‘the beautiful products of Hind and Sindh, laden on large ships which they call Junks, sailing like mountains with the wings of the wind on the surface of the water’.

Its flourishing ports also found their way into the works of 17th-century Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif, who sang of boats decorated with flags and goldtopped sticks. He described how Sindhi merchants would leave after the monsoon, and captured in his epic poem, Sur Samundi, the hazards of these

voyages – from pirates and heavy seas to goods that would spoil in the sea air.

Sindhi traders also appear in the 17th and 18th Century records of the Dutch East India Company – In 1757, the Dutch merchant Brahe met a group of merchants from ‘Karaatje’ (Karachi) through a local broker he called Annendramme (Anand Ram). They inspected and offered to buy Brahe’s spices and sugar, but only if credit would be extended as they could get better prices from the Englishii .

It was this long history of trading experience and merchant mobility, of connections forged at home and abroad, that formed the basis of a network through which the community would flourish. Moneylenders in Sindh would fund what they deemed worthy ventures of these early capitalists, tying them back to Shahi Bazaar in Hyderabad City, even as their entrepreneurial ambitions took them across the globe.

BHAIBANDS: SOWING THE SEEDS OF A GLOBAL DIASPORA

For Bhaiband men like Khanchand, leaving Sindh was a rite of passage. Young Sindhi men would leave on their first safar 9 when they were 15 or 16, apprenticing under uncles or family friends in Sindhi businesses abroad. Every two or three years, they would make the eight-week journey home, usually having arranged marriages on one of their visits.

Many businesses abroad were based in “shophouses” - business was conducted on the ground floor, and it was common for the apprentices to share living space on the level above.

This extraordinary community, which in 1937 numbered 5,000, expanded quickly, leveraging British trading routes to establish a sea-based network of commerce across the world. By the eve of Partition, in the words of French

scholar Claude Markovits, it had become “the most extensive of all Indian merchant networks abroad, which stretched from Kobe in Japan to Panama, with several firms having branches in all the major ports along the two main sea-routes, Bombay — Kobe (via Colombo, Singapore, Surabaya, Saigon, Canton, Shanghai, Manila) and Bombay — Panama (via Port-Sudan, Port Said, Alexandria, Valletta, Gibraltar, Teneriffe, or via Lourenço — Marques, Capetown, Freetowniii).”

Following the 1947 Partition of India, many of these Bhaibands adopted their trading outposts as their new homes. Daring and ambitious, this pioneering generation of entrepreneurs planted the seeds for the Sindhi merchant communities that today span the globe.iv

The Bhaibands were quick to seek out opportunities, filling trunks with ‘Sindwork’ and setting sail across oceans, west towards Egypt and east towards the Straits Settlements (Map: The War Office/British Library/Public Domain)

9 Travels undertaken by musafirs

All this changed when the Second World War broke out in 1939, and sea routes were closed. Khanchand was in Indonesia, Ishwari and their children in Hyderabad, and for eight long years, all communication was cut off. With no information or funds coming in, the family was dependent on the kindness of others. The Sindh to which Khanchand returned to repay this kindness was dramatically different from the peaceful, prosperous city he had left before the war.

After the war, India’s nationalist movement had escalated and had become increasingly volatile. Sectarian tensions erupted and intensified, leading to two momentous events: In August 1947, after 200 years in India, British rule ended. At the same time, the Indian subcontinent was split into two independent nations – India and Pakistan. Across India, large-scale violence ensued, with the Hindus and Sikhs on one side, and the Muslims on the other. The scale and brutality of the conflict was unprecedented – people were attacked on the streets, ambushed on trains, and violent clashes were shockingly common. In Sindh, life became increasingly dangerous for the Hindu Bhaibands. Eventually, many, including the Vaswani family, were forced to flee their homes with only what they could carry on their person.

Across India and Pakistan, over 15 million people were forcibly displaced by the violence. Looking back, Khanchand’s daughter, Padu, says: “We just locked the bungalow and left. We didn’t realise then that we would never come back.”

“We just locked the bungalow and left. We didn’t realise then that we would never come back”

— Padu

Ishwari at the family home in Hyderabad, Sindh. With the men working abroad, the women ran the household

The end of 200 years of British rule split the subcontinent along religious lines, forcing Hindus and Sikhs to flee their homes

(Photos, top to bottom: Margaret Bourke-White/ The LIFE Picture Collection/ Getty Images, The Sunday Statesman, New York WorldTelegram, Associated Press)

A HOMELAND LOST

“We left for Karachi – eight of us – in a small chartered bus. The trains were crowded and unsafe, and ships were a safer way to travel to Bombay,” Padu recalls. “We couldn’t take many belongings on the bus, only our clothes and some jewellery that we hid in special belts we wore. The day we arrived in Karachi, there were violent riots taking place. We hadn’t received the message, in those days there was no way to communicate easily... At the bus terminal, Tikamdas Adnani, my cousin Vishu’s father, was waiting to receive us with two close Muslim friends who were Pathans from Afghanistan. They were all wearing topis, and when the mob wanted to attack us, the Pathans swore that we were all Muslims. They saved us.”

Putting down new roots

Like many other trading families, the Vaswani brothers hoped to settle their families in the countries where they had previously lived and traded, and could conceivably make a living. But the journey to Indonesia would be fraught with danger, and take several months to accomplish.

With attacks and looting rampant on trains, Khanchand and his family chartered a bus and formed part of the exodus that fled Hyderabad for Karachi, 143km away. From there, they boarded a ship to Mumbai, where they stayed at the Kalyan refugee camp for several months before eventually finding passage to Madras, and then to Singapore.

The networks that had once sustained global trade now provided refuge and resources for the displaced diaspora. In Singapore, for instance, the Sindhi Merchants Association provided boarding facilities on Enggor Street for Sindhis. It was here that the Vaswani family took refuge while they waited to board a ship to Indonesia. It would not be until March 1948 that the family would finally dock in Surabaya.

The Vaswani family would be among some 3,500 Sindhis estimated to have moved to Indonesia between 1948 and 1953 – by the late 1950s, this number would swell to around 8,000, spread across the archipelago. Many would resettle in the Indonesian coastal trading cities of Surabaya, Jakarta and Semarang, but Malang, Surakarta

Malang, a town just over 80km away from Surabaya and about 500m above sea level, became the family’s new home (Photo: Tropenmuseum, part of the National Museum of World Cultures/CC BY-SA 3.0)

SETH TOLARAM AND MITHI BAI: THE VALUES THEY SEEDED

Seth Tolaram was a man to whom many could turn. Better known as Tolaram Tabeeb7 in his hometown of Hyderabad, he was a respected physician in the community. He specialised in traditional Ayurvedic medicine, dispensing a mix of therapeutic oils, herbs and spices, often at no cost to those who could not afford it.

But it was not only physical ailments that were brought to his practice, which sat in an extension of the family bungalow. Many turned to Tolaram Tabeeb for both comfort and counsel on community matters. With his wife, Shrimati8 Mithi Bai, he helped the sick and destitute through medicine as well as welfare, doing whatever he could. They lived humbly, and chose a life of service. “He and his wife were very charitable and spent a lot of

time doing social work,” says grandson Mohan. He was also a man of both prayer and discipline, say his grandchildren – and it was from that that he drew his strength.

The couple had 17 children. Of them, only four sons – Dharamdas, Nawalrai, Vishindas and Khanchand – and two daughters – Kundi Bai and Methi Bai – survived. It would be his youngest son, Khanchand, who would carry his name halfway across the world, creating Tolaram, a company that, to this day, reflects the values Seth Tolaram seeded: trust, courage, humility, respect and commitment.

7 Doctor

8 A title of respect for a woman, especially a married one

Seth Tolaram and Shrimati Mithi Bai sowed the seeds of a culture of giving that lives on in the family to this day

and Bandung were also popular choices. Under Dutch East Indies policy, migrants of South Asian descent were classified as ‘Foreign Orientals’, which placed them a step above the native population but below the Europeans. This gave them limited legal rights and business opportunities.

Once just there to trade, the family now began laying down roots and creating a new home in their adopted land.

Starting again, in every way

During the time Khanchand was away in Sindh in 1947, he had entrusted the management of his two Jakarta shops to a cousin.

Upon his return in March 1948, he discovered – to his dismay – that not only had the shops been sold without his consent, but for a sum far lower than their value. “He gave my dad 4,000 Dutch guilders – about US$1,500 –which was not enough to restart life in Jakarta or Surabaya. And we didn’t have any more,” Mohan recalls. Unable to support his family, Khanchand joined his brothers in Surabaya, but despite offers to remain a part of their existing businesses, he held on to his dream to have his own business.

Khanchand found support in his wife, Ishwari, and together they began contemplating the smaller cities in the vicinity. “We went by taxi,” says Mohan. “There were a few Sindhi families who welcomed us and offered to let us stay with them until we could decide what to do.”

In the end, it was Malang, a city just over 80km from Surabaya, that was to be home. It was affordable, with a mild climate, and there were other Sindhi families in the city to provide

support and company as the family found their feet. “We met the Chattarams, a family that was willing to help us settle there. In those days, someone had to help you in a new place, someone who had settled down there and could help you start,” says Mohan.

As Khanchand hunted for suitable shop space, Mohan, then 10, and Padu, 12, manned the temporary store – at the time, the back wall of a Chinese friend’s gold shop. While there was no counter space to be spared, they could hang textiles on a rope

“We began selling a few pieces of fabric – cut pieces for dresses. Whatever money my father had, he would go to Surabaya and buy, maybe, 100 pieces of fabric for ladies’ dresses,” recalls Mohan. “100 pieces –that’s what we could afford to buy at that time. We didn’t have a shop yet, so a friend helped us while my dad looked for one. He was selling gold in the front of the shop, and temporarily, we could use the wall at the back. So we used to hang the fabrics there. That’s how we learnt what people liked, and what colours sold.” and display them on the wall. Mohan was enrolled into a Chinese school so the family would be able to better communicate with the business community, and later, studied English under a German tutor.

Eventually, in 1948, the family had enough to rent a small shop at 127 Jalan Pasar Besar, near, but not quite within, Malang’s main market. Business was good, and it didn’t take long for Khanchand’s dreams to outgrow the small shop on the outer perimeter of the market. He had his sights set on Number 77, located in the middle of the market where there was more pedestrian traffic.

It took another two years for the owner of 77, Tie Thwan Sien, to agree to rent them a 4m by 4m space in the shop. It was

roughly two-thirds of the total space –the final third was rented to an electrical goods retailer. Tie would come to play the role of business mentor and Om (uncle in Indonesian) to Mohan.

It would be in this space, on an auspicious day in November 1950, that the name Tolaram would be emblazoned over a doorway, named for a man who had laid the foundation for the values on which Khanchand and his descendants would build their business.

With its rich cultural history and mild climate, Malang drew tourists from the surrounding cities, who found their way to Tailor Tolaram (Photo: Tropenmuseum, part of the National Museum of World Cultures/CC BY-SA 3.0)

CHAPTER 2

The Indonesia

Years

From selling cut pieces at a market stall, Tolaram went on to establish a reputation for fabric and tailoring across Indonesia. Three generations of the family have worked at the unit at 77 Jalan Pasar Besar, which the family still owns

Tolaram relocates to larger premises at 77 Jalan Pasar Besar, where it remains today Khanchand hands over the reins of the business to Mohan

Vishu Adnani joins Tolaram

The business expands into wholesale and distribution

Tolaram establishes a finance and procurement office in Singapore

Tolaram makes its first foray into manufacturing; begins yarn and fabric production in Batu

Jacky Mulani becomes the first of the third generation to join the business

Rapid expansion across Indonesia; Tolaram adds electronics, consumer goods, and financial services to its growing portfolio

“Even

today, Khanchand and Ishwari are fondly remembered around Indonesia. If you mention my grandfather’s and grandmother’s names, people still remember and respect them. And because they’re respected, so are we – the family name itself is a legacy” – Renu

Aswani

On November 8, 1950, in the presence of Malang’s Sindhi community, Tolaram opened its doors. It was an auspicious day – the festival of Dussehra1– and business was brisk. “We were collecting cash, measuring fabric and talking to customers,” recalls Padu. “We were very busy – my father was a good man and people liked him.”

In the early days, the priority was to draw customers and establish a reputation as a reasonable place for quality fabric. Goods were sometimes sold at cost to attract buyers and demonstrate that they could depend on Tolaram for fair prices, says Mohan. “So for quite some time, we did not make much.”

A country in transition

At the time Tolaram began trading, Indonesia had been independent for just a year, and was struggling to transition from colonialism to a democracy.

The end of the Second World War and Japanese Occupation in 1945 had been followed by four years of fierce fighting between Indonesian freedom fighters and the Dutch colonial rulers, who were

1 Dussehra marks the beginning of preparation for Diwali, which occurs 21 days later

reluctant to leavev. The Vaswani family had fled one nationalistic struggle only to find another in full swing when they docked in Surabaya in March 1948. When the Dutch finally relented in 1949 after more than 350 years of colonial rule, the Indonesians found themselves ill-equipped for self-rule. A power struggle broke out between newlydeclared President Sukarno, the army, and the communist party.

Some 869km away from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and surrounded by mountains on all sides, Malang was relatively calm, but not altogether spared this turmoil. While business continued as usual during the daytime, a nightly curfew was in place, Padu remembers.

“I remember one day in 1948–1949, when Mohan was still 10 or 11 years old. He was walking to the store when, suddenly, there was a siren and curfew was announced. He was sheltered by an Indonesian lady for several hours. Meanwhile, we were terrified that we had lost him. Later that day, the lady brought him home.” – Padu

Theft was also rampant. “We used to pack everything up at the end of the day and take it home until dad finally bought a safe.”

The turmoil put a damper on economic growth, a situation that would continue under the political and economic policies of President Sukarno. It would not be until nearly two decades later, in 1966, with the swearing in of President Suharto, that the tide would turn for Indonesia.

Getting off the ground

For Tolaram, the turning point came earlier, and quite unexpectedly, one evening in the late 1950s, when a well-dressed Indonesian man arrived at the shop at closing time, looking to buy material for a full suit. Khanchand, with a nose for business honed

over decades as an entrepreneur, invited him in.

“My dad served him, and offered him a drink and something small to eat,” Mohan recalls. “And then he said to my dad, do you want to distribute fabric?”

The late evening visitor turned out to be a former ranking-military man. The Indonesian army’s success in expediting the exit of the Dutch from Indonesia had brought with it national gratitude, political power and the expansion of the army into business interests. The gentleman held distribution rights for a popular imported fabric, and was sufficiently impressed by the service he received from Khanchand to appoint Tolaram as his sales agent for 100,000 metres of the fabric.

Ishwari (fourth from left) performing Diwali prayers at 77 Jalan Pasar Besar. Khanchand (far right) and her would host an open house with food and drink after prayers. This tradition continues to this day

“So I went to Surabaya and picked it up,” recalls Mohan. “We could only sell three metres per customer, and the price was controlled – we would buy the fabric for $1 and sell it for $2. But people came to know of us. That was the turning point. That was what made our shop very popular.” From as early as 6 am, queues – sometimes 1km long – would snake from the entrance of the shop, deep into the city’s oldest market.

For the fledgling business, this translated into cash flow and the ability to afford a wider range of offerings. “By then, we also understood the business better, and we carried a lot of imported fabrics that others

didn’t have,” says Mohan. “Malang was considered a ‘getaway city’, where people from Surabaya or from the surrounding areas would come for a vacation. And when they came, they would definitely visit Toko Tolaram.”

While Khanchand travelled to source fabric for the growing business, it fell to Ishwari to take charge of the day-to-day running of the shop – opening up in the morning, manning the cash register, and locking up at the end of the day. Everyone else pulled their weight. “There were no specified roles,” says Padu. “Everyone had to contribute. There was no formal teaching,

Malang’s main market circa 1950 (Photo: Tropenmuseum, part of the National Museum of World Cultures/CC BY-SA 3.0)

you watched and you learnt. It was the way of the family.”

As Tolaram grew, Khanchand recruited fellow migrants from the Sindhi diaspora and members of the local community, who worked side by side in the company. Many who joined would stay for decades, passing on knowledge and skills, and helping to shape Tolaram.

Pak Sastro, an elder from the local community, advised Khanchand, and his insights into Javanese history and culture were invaluable in guiding the family in Malang. Pak Eli, the most senior employee in the shop, took the role of “the elder statesman”, commanding respect from the employees, who took their cue from him.

Pak Eli

“Pak Eli was the oldest employee we had – I think he was with us right from the start, from 1948. He was very dedicated. He would be the first one to come to the shop each day. He would pick up the keys and open it to let everyone else in – first the cleaners would come, then the other workers, and then the customers at precisely 8 am. He oversaw the wool section, the second most expensive fabric that we sold, after lace.”

– Haresh Aswani

Tolaram drew on the knowledge of key members from the local community, including Pak Sastro (far left), who served as an advisor to Khanchand, and then a mentor to Mohan

DADA KHANCHAND: THE MAN AND HIS LEGACY

Even as a 17-year-old apprentice in Surabaya, Khanchand knew he wanted to one day have his own business.

“My dad always had big dreams,” says Mohan. But success, he recalls, was hard-won. “Our first nine years, from 1948 to 1957, were difficult. When we first moved to Malang, there was not much money so my dad used to buy goods on credit to sell. That’s how he started.” Building the right relationships with the right people also took time. When things did not work out, Khanchand would regroup and try again. “Ultimately, it was a struggle, but he never gave up,” Mohan says.

It was not just his own success that he channelled time and energy into – Khanchand, like his father before him, played an active role in the community, as President of the Indian Association. “There were about 50 members at the time, and there was always something to be resolved,” remembers Mohan. “Security was a big issue – you would restock and then someone would rob you. My dad would go with one or two others to meet the authorities to discuss this.”

It was his understanding of human behaviour that allowed him to connect with a wide range of people, whether he was negotiating with local authorities for better terms for the business, or simply making friends, his granddaughter, Mimu, says. “His power came from being able to engage with people from their perspective. He had a strong cultural

sense of the places he visited, and spoke in a language that people could understand.”

His manner endeared him to people, who both respected and gravitated towards him, says his other granddaughter, Renu. “He tried to include as many people in his orbit as possible. He was a people’s man – constantly surrounded, and very sociable.”

It also meant he often ran a full house, with his grandchildren displaced from their rooms so someone else could stay, recalls Haresh, his grandson. “We never minded. My grandfather always said: the more people who come, the more the house is blessed.”

When it came, success was savoured – and shared.

His grandchildren recall him as immaculately dressed with Bally shoes and fine watches, smelling

Dada Khanchand loved bringing people together – family, partners, and members of his staff, says granddaughter Mimu

of Old Spice and pipe tobacco. “He had many passions,” remembers Haresh, who would often accompany his grandfather on his travels through the region. “He would buy these fancy sunglasses and I would get one too.” The two also shared a passion for cars, and Khanchand would wait until his grandson visited so they could peruse the latest models together.

He prioritised time with the family, chatting with his grandchildren about their goals and dreams while he had his morning coffee, and gathering everyone for snacks and family card games in the evenings, says Mimu: “He would get four to six people together to play a card game called Terpen. He taught me that. We used to laugh a lot.”

Besides teaching his grandchildren to embrace life, Khanchand also imparted lessons of a different sort – those he had learnt from his own

father on the importance of family, respect for elders, and integrity. “He was always saying that you can lose money, but should never lose your honour,” says Haresh. “Keep your word, keep your promises.”

And he did that – including to those who worked with him. “They were the wider family,” grandson Sajen says. Khanchand did not shy away from reprimanding anyone who was disrespectful towards his employees.

His resilience, inclusiveness, and integrity are among the lessons that have been taken to heart by his children and grandchildren, and are part of his legacy that survives in Tolaram today.

“The world has changed and the situation has changed, but his principles still apply,” says Mohan.

With the business off the ground, Khanchand and his brothers reinstated a tradition from their childhood: giving back to the community they were now part of. Four or five times a year, on Indonesian or Indian festive days, they would head to the wholesale markets in Surabaya and buy enough stationery – pencils, erasers, paper – and biscuits to fill 1,000 plastic bags. Everyone in the family, children included, would be roped in to fill those bags, and then distribute them at temples, schools or hospitals in the area. Once a year, on January 1, they would also make the 30-minute trip down to Singosari temple

to hand out packets to the children who would gather there. “It was a small temple, but there was a big village around it, and on January 1, a lot of children would come expecting gifts,” recalls Mohan.

In 1957, after seven years sharing a premise with an electrical company, Mohan successfully negotiated to secure the entire shop space of 77 Jalan Pasar Besar for Tolaram. An agreement was also reached for Tolaram to eventually buy over the premise from landlord Tie Thwan Sien, paying in instalments whenever there was a surplus after other business expenses had

The Tolaram family soon came to include not just members of the Sindhi diaspora but the local community who grew their careers with the business

Tie Thwan Sien

“He used to come to the shop every day at 9 am and leave at 1 pm, and during those few hours, he would teach me things,” says Mohan. “At noon, when the shop was most crowded, he would say, let’s go to Surabaya and have lunch there. The way you run a business should let you leave at any time, he would say. You should organise it in such a way that you don’t need to be there. Another time, he took out a piece of paper and asked me to hold a magnifying glass over it. It was sunny so it caught fire. This is the power of focus, he said.”

been met. From then on, “Om” (Uncle) Tie became a mentor to Mohan – and a fixture at Tolaram.

On November 15 the same year, Khanchand handed over the reins of the business to Mohan, then 19, recognising in his son the same entrepreneurial fire that had driven him for so long.

“I clearly remember the day I became responsible,” says Mohan. “After that, my dad would still come to the shop every day, and he had his own chair and table where he would sit, but from that day, I was running the shop.”

“I was close to my father. The world has changed and the situation has changed, but his principles still apply” – Mohan

Everyone in the family, adults and children, were roped in to fill small bags for the children who gathered at the famed Singosari shrine on New Year’s Day. “We would pack everything needed for school, like books and stationery,” says Sonny Aswani. This became an annual tradition for the Tolaram family

A TRADITION OF GIVING BACK

“There

were never any speeches or fanfare. Every month or quarter, we would just go and give. Everyone would participate, they made sure that all the kids were involved, and it has passed down to our generation. This is the same spirit behind the giving initiatives supported by the business and family today” – Mimu

Making a lasting impression

In 2019, Mohan returned to Malang to explore the possibility of setting up a community clinic in Batu. “We were discussing with the mayor and the heads of departments what we wanted to do and what type of approvals we would need for them, and at the end of the meeting, one of them suddenly asked: Do you remember me? I used to come each year to the temple on January 1 when I was a child,” Mohan recalls. “Sometimes life is amazing – it was not much, just pencils and some biscuits, whatever we could afford then, but after 60 years, he still remembered.”

The expansion years

From the end of the 1950s and into the 1960s, Tolaram grew rapidly, extending into the adjacent shop space and acquiring the shops behind it. More levels and new departments were added, including a separate space for producing garments and another for tailoring. In 1961, Mohan achieved the same dream his father achieved almost two decades earlier, and opened a shop in the capital, Jakarta.

The beginning of the 1960s also saw the beginning of the partnership that would take Tolaram across the globe. Vishamkar

‘Vishu’ Adnani, Mohan’s cousin whose father had sheltered the family in Karachi all those years earlier, joined the business. As a school boy, he had spent his holidays learning the tools of the trade under the watchful eye of Khanchand; as an adult, he would be instrumental to Tolaram’s growth, and later become Vice Chairman. Almost immediately upon joining the company, Vishu and Mohan began pushing Tolaram’s boundaries, first beyond retail, then beyond the textile industry, and finally, beyond Indonesia.

The duo’s first move was to source fabric directly from the export markets

Tolaram continued to grow its reach, opening shops in Jakarta and Surabaya. At every opening, the family would show up in full force

– particularly Japan. “Long before Korea, China or Taiwan, Japan was the premium supplier of textiles, and since the Japanese only sold in bulk, this automatically made them wholesalers,” says Haresh. Once the two had established relationships with principals in other export markets, they began importing directly from these markets, too, for distribution across Indonesia. “They would travel to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and more. They loved the idea of trading and entrepreneurship, and it helped that they were culturally adaptable,” he adds.

“Uncle Mohan and Uncle Vishu were cousins, but they were also close friends. And they were very bold. They used to go to Surabaya everyday, to the port, to collect the wholesale shipments, and they opened an office in Surabaya to start distributing from there. It was a twohour drive each way. They’d leave at 5 am, and come back at 5 in the evening.” – Renu

"Both had tickets in their bags – those tickets gave them the ability to fly all over the world. Their nose for entrepreneurship was good” – Haresh

EARLY SUCCESS

Vishu’s eye for quality textiles and his keen negotiating skills brought in exclusive deals that Tolaram quickly became known for. “He would persuade his suppliers not to sell to anyone else in Indonesia, and so we had some of the most exclusive textile products in the country. That created a lot of buzz,” says Haresh. In the mid-1960s, Tolaram established a procurement company in Singapore to facilitate this growing trade.

Tolaram owed its early success to a simple – but highly successful – marketing strategy. “There were 10 to 12 departments selling different materials, the most expensive being lace, and the cheapest was a cotton-based material we called tetoron, which was used for school uniforms and shirts,” recalls Haresh. “What they would do was sell this at close to cost price to attract people into the shop. So parents would come in, and along the way, they would see other materials they liked. We also depended a lot on farmers coming in. Tetoron was the basic material they bought. But after the harvest season, they would come in and look for the most expensive wool we had to make a suit. The ladies would go to the embroidery section and buy the best embroidered fabrics. Since we also had a tailoring shop, they could take the material there and get it tailored. We seamlessly provided a one-stop shop.”

MALANG: A MELTING POT

Malang’s rich history as the seat of the Hindu Kanjuruhan kingdom in the 8th Century, a popular retreat for the Dutch colonial rulers in the 18th Century, and a thriving centre of education today has made it a virtual melting pot of ethnicities, cultures and religions. The presence of temples, churches and mosques – sometimes a stone’s throw from each other –reflects a culture of not just tolerance, but harmonious coexistencevi. It was in this city that Khanchand and Ishwari chose to lay the foundations of their family business.

As the Vaswani family became part of Malang, Malang became part of Tolaram. “We had Chinese and Indonesians from the area, but also Indonesians from different regions,” recalls Haresh. “It wasn’t just the East Javanese who worked with us there, there were also people from Middle Java and East Timor. We had a very diverse community of people working in the shop.” Surrounded by mountains on all sides, Malang’s cool climate and leisurely pace of life, combined with colonial-era architecture and boulevards also made it a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. It was against this backdrop and steeped in this rich diversity that the third generation of Seth Tolaram’s family would spend their formative years.

“I remember going to Malang as an adult with my father, and even though the building hadn’t been used in a long time, you still got a sense of its grandeur and beauty. Every staircase landing had beautifully carved mythological scenes. The old prayer room was still there, and each wall was a tribute to a different religion – Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and even Buddhism, reflecting the multi-cultural and multireligious nature of the family. It captured the spirit of the diversity we grew up in. When we came back downstairs, we met a lot of elderly people who still remembered the shop and our family.”

– Sandhya Aswani, Khanchand’s great-granddaughter

Following the purchase of 77 Jalan Pasar Besar, the family acquired the adjacent 4-storey building, and the top two floors became the family’s residence until 2000

A MATCH MADE IN MALANG

Malang not only provided the family with a fresh start, it was also where Mohan would find his life partner in the Indonesian-born Kawita (née Florine Kwee).

At a time when interracial marriages were still relatively uncommon, the couple remained steadfast, marrying in both the Christian and Hindu traditions. “They had a Christian wedding in 1962, and then a Hindu ceremony at the altar of the home temple above the Jalan Pasar Besar shop,” says their niece, Mimu. “My mother still remembers how it was Dada Khanchand who started calling her Kawita, which means poem.”

As Mohan shaped the business and took it in new directions, Kawita stepped into the role of matriarch to the wider family. “They are our role models – we learnt from their example,” says Sajen’s wife Minu Aswani (Lakhiani). “As a couple, they are gracious, warm and welcoming. For Mohan, Kawita is both a confidante and a sounding board. She embraced the vision he had for the business, and was his strength during the most difficult times.” To this day, Kawita remains a presence

in both the business and the lives of the people within it, she says.

The qualities that defined their relationship were the same that came to define Tolaram: strength in adversity,

the ability to overcome extraordinary challenges, and an openness to all cultures and backgrounds.

In 2022, Mohan and Kawita celebrated 60 years of marriage.

Mohan’s growing family: (clockwise, from left) Vishu carrying Tom, Kawita carrying Raj, Mohan, Pushpa, and Chandra

In the 1970s, the cousins moved into manufacturing, establishing Tolaram’s first manufacturing plant in Batu, a city about 20km northwest of Malang. Malang, which had gained a reputation as a centre for education, training young people from around the country, provided skilled engineering talent for the plant. By the end of the decade, Tolaram had established several more

manufacturing plants in Surabaya, Bandung and Semarang, and were exporting carpets, yarns and textiles to Europe and Asia.

With expansion in mind, Tolaram set up its international headquarters in Singapore in 1975.

“My dad pushed us,” says Mohan. “He would tell us that we should ultimately aim to operate around the world. He used to tell us that all the time. We were stuck in Malang, but he wanted us to go around the world. That made an impact on us, and drove us in that direction.”

The following decade saw Tolaram’s textile manufacturing business expand beyond Indonesia to the US, Nigeria and the UK. “Vishu was always the frontrunner,” says Mohan. “He would send goods to different countries to learn about the pricing, the sales structure and who to distribute through. I would come in later to study how we could begin manufacturing them. It wasn’t easy, but we had the courage to experiment,” he says.

Within Indonesia, too, Tolaram expanded the business into new fields, including the fast-growing areas of home electronics, consumer goods, and consumer finance.

Tolaram’s first major international partnership was with Indian industrial conglomerate Yash Birla Group, to build a textile factory in Surabaya

“We had the mindset that it was okay to fail. We’d just gain experience and do something else.”

From Malang to the rest of the world

By this time, the third generation of the family had come on board.

In the 1970s, Jacky, Mohan’s nephew and the son of his oldest sister Sulachni, began shadowing Mohan and Vishu as an understudy. The 1980s saw Sajen, Haresh and Sonny, all three sons of Padu, join the business in Indonesia and Singapore. Mohan’s oldest son, Tom, joined the company as a staff member at its East German manufacturing

plant in the 1990s, followed by his younger son, Raj, who cut his teeth in Estonia.

“Besides teaching me about the business, they taught me about life, about how to always treat others with respect, how to conduct business fairly at all times, and to always be ready to lend a helping hand to those who may need it.”

– Raj Vaswani on Mohan and Vishu

Padu, who grew up around textiles, remained a fixture at the Malang store until she got married and moved to Kuala Lumpur, then Johor Bahru. She continued to work at the Singapore office, commuting daily

“Everyone knew everybody. The shop was at a very prominent location and was often the main attraction during festive seasons” – Sajen

While this signalled their formal entry into Tolaram, informally, the cousins had been learning the ropes almost as soon as they were old enough to run through the Malang shop and listen in on the conversations around them.

“The employees doted on us and made sure we didn’t get up to too much mischief,” laughs Sajen. “As we grew up, they taught us the tools of the trade – how to talk to customers, how to behave around customers... the most important things were humility and respect. Indonesian culture is very respectful, especially towards elders, and this is embedded in conversation. For instance, you never

2 Good morning

3 How are you

began a conversation by simply asking what a customer wanted. You started by saying ‘Selamat Pagi’ 2 or ‘Apa Kabar’ 3 .”

To prepare them for their role in the now fast-expanding family business, the cousins spent their school holidays helping out in the shop, mentored by Mohan and Vishu, as well as the employees, many of whom had grown with the business.

“Every summer, we would learn something new,” recalls Sajen. “When they sat down to talk, there were always references to a particular fabric they had sold, how popular it was, and what its potential was.” As they

graduated from high school, each was supported through university, but in the spirit of true entrepreneurship, beyond basic education costs, each had to find their own way to support themselves while abroad.

“I worked in the college cafeteria, 40 hours a week at $2 an hour,” recalls Haresh, who studied Business Management in the US. “It was a good experience.”

Upon returning home, each also found that they had to earn their stripes through internships that started from the ground.

The cousins would then spread out across the globe and help build some of Tolaram’s key businesses.

The next few decades would see the Tolaram brand carried across the world.

Photo: iStock.com/Hiraman

TERPEN: A MULTIGENERATIONAL DEAL

The family that moved to Indonesia gathered for meals every night. Prior to dinner, they would unwind with a deck of cards and play a game known as ‘Terpen,’ a tradition that started in Sindh. It is a simpler version of bridge where the number of tricks won determines the winning team — paired in two teams of two or three people. The core

family still gathers on Sundays to play this game for a few hours, accompanied by banter and snacks. Its popularity as a family game transcends three generations. No money is ever involved, but the losers have to ‘salute’ the winners after each completed round, so pride is at stake.

GROWING UP AT TOLARAM

“The first year, I worked in the shop in Malang, and in my second year, in Surabaya under my cousin Jacky. I was in charge of sales for East Indonesia, and my job had me travelling all over the region. I had to go out and get as many distributors as possible, and for our carpets and upholstery, I had to get shelf space – if you got shelf space in a shop, you could sell your carpets. It was a lot of hard work, long flights and inconvenient hotels, but it made me realise that you had to be on the ground, walking the talk to achieve anything. It was also interesting. People in this business are predominantly Chinese, and the one thing they had in common was that they loved to entertain. Some of the cuisines I had then, I don’t think I’ve ever had again, for example, bush rat. You had to sit there and be polite or say you were vegetarian –but the experience was remarkable. It taught me a lot about Indonesia.”

– Haresh

Above: Tom and members of the staff

Below: Sonny, Sajen and Haresh

Above: The younger members of the family grew up in and around the store. Pictured here (from left to right): Padu’s husband Ghanshamdas, Sulachni’s husband Chattaram, Padu, Haresh, Mimu, Sonny, Ishwari’s brother Ghansham, Sulachni, and Sajen

“The employees doted on us and made sure we didn’t get up to too much mischief. As we grew up, they taught us the tools of the trade – how to talk to customers, how to behave around customers... the most important things were humility and respect.” – Sajen

“I came back with not only a Bachelor’s degree but also a Master’s degree thinking that I would get a nice, cushy job at the head office in Singapore. Instead, Mr Mohan sent me to the warehouse in Jurong. So for the first six months, I was in a t-shirt and shorts working at the warehouse. After a few weeks, the other guys knew who I was, and they also knew why I was there: if you were going to join the family business, then you would start from the ground up.” – Sonny

THE WOMEN PIONEERS OF TOLARAM

ISHWARI

Ishwari left an indelible mark on Tolaram – and on those who would lead it. It was she who first fell in love with the cooler and more affordable Malang, and who pushed for the family business to be established there. In the rocky early years, she stood steadfastly by Khanchand, as determined as he was to ride out the difficult days. “My mum was very strong. She was always saying, ‘Okay, we have a problem, but we will face it. We will work hard, and we will learn’,” recalls Mohan. When Khanchand travelled to source textiles for the fledgling business, it was Ishwari who held the fort. “She was in the shop every day, usually in the mornings,” says Haresh. “The customers liked her, the employees loved her, and she could always get extensions of credit from suppliers. If the goods hadn’t been sold, she would let them know – she was good at that.” Family life revolved around the matriarch, and she would often co-opt whichever grandchild happened to be available in the activity she was busy with, whether sorting bills at the shop, or grinding coriander and chilli in the kitchen, teaching by example. “She united the family,” says Haresh.

SULACHNI (“KIKI”)

Sulachni, the oldest of Khanchand’s three children, would man the cashier once Ishwari had opened up for the day. “Grandma would go down, open the shop in the morning, and then attend to household duties, or go to the market, and Aunty Kiki would take over,” recalls Haresh. Her role grew when Mohan took over the family business, holding down the fort when he was away on purchasing trips. Like Ishwari, Sulachni was respected by the staff for her generosity and even temper, was well-liked in the town of Malang. Also, like her mother, she was as adept in the home as she was at the shop. From her father, Sulachni inherited a passion for textiles. “She was always the first to spot a nice piece of fabric and to cut it up to make a beautiful saree,” recalls her niece, Mimu. As much as she loved dressing up, Sulachni was equally passionate about dressing others, spotting the right fabric and draping it on customers, family members or friends. Sulachni passed away at the family home in Malang in 1994, after a long battle with illness.

PADU

Padu began learning the ropes of the textile business as a 12-year-old, displaying cut pieces at Malang’s largest market. She remained an integral part of the family business in Malang and later, in Singapore, where Tolaram set up its financial and procurement hub in 1967. Padu and her husband, Ghanshamdas, were living in Kuala Lumpur at the time, so their children could be educated in English. With part of the business now in Singapore, the family made the move to Johor Bahru for an easier commute to the new office, where Padu assumed the role of general manager. “Five days a week, my mum would take us to school, drive to Singapore to work, then return to pick us up and make us dinner,” Sonny recalls. “She did that until 1975 when we established our headquarters in Singapore.” As head of the office, Padu was responsible for approving financial transactions and signing documents on the family’s behalf. “She learnt the role,” says Sajen. “She’s very competent and strong-minded. If she sets her mind to something, she’ll get it done.” Later, Padu would run the financing department of the Singapore office, and become a Director before retiring in 1978.

KAWITA

Kawita (née Florine Kwee) was born in Indonesia to an immigrant Chinese family that had also made Malang their home. In the early years, she helped run Tolaram’s garment department. Later, when the family moved to Singapore and began looking to expand into new markets and businesses, she was Mohan’s sounding board, and frequently accompanied him on his business trips. “I remember, in those days we were thinking about exporting coffee, so that’s what we would talk about, coffee and export markets,” Kawita recalls. As Tolaram began to expand abroad, Kawita was among those who kept daily life humming. “We were just starting in Lagos, and I remember there weren’t many places to eat. So I was busy every day, sending food for 10 people at lunchtime, and then at night, they would come to the house to eat with us,” she says. Kawita’s hosting and cooking skills were legendary, says her grand-niece Sumitra, adding that Mohan would often choose to host his most important guests – from business partners to potential employees – at home. “The Tolaram spouses made many sacrifices” says Sumitra. “They were responsible for raising their families while supporting their husbands in big and small ways as they strove to make it in the world.”

CHAPTER 3

From to the Singapore World

Tolaram relocates its headquarters to Singapore; Mohan and his family move to the city state

Overseas expansion begins with the setting up of a trading office in Nigeria with partners

Establishes trading outposts in Zaire, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, and Mozambique; expands to Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Panama and Spain

Acquires a yarn factory in North Carolina, establishing a foothold in the US

Acquires polyester spinning plant in North Carolina

Sajen Aswani joins the business in Singapore

Haresh Aswani joins the business in Malang

Vishu and his family relocate to Singapore

Sonny Aswani joins the business in Singapore

Tolaram builds a polymer plant in the UK

Establishes a trading office in Moscow

Establishes manufacturing presence in Thailand and China; expands into Germany and Malaysia

Tom Vaswani joins the business in Russia

Divests US investments; adds more than 20 manufacturing companies in Eastern Europe, China, Ireland, Thailand and Africa to its portfolio over the next five years

Raj Vaswani joins the business in Singapore

King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, officially opening Tolaram’s polymer plant in Northeast England in March 1987

“The family business was starting to morph into an international industrial business. The Singapore headquarters helped drive our expansion” – Sajen Aswani

The mid-1970s marked a phase of rapid development for newlyindependent Singapore.

Less than a decade after exiting the shortlived Malaysian Federation, and against all odds, the land- and resource-scarce nation was thriving and well on its way to becoming a global trading and financial centrevii . A stable political climate and favourable investment conditions drew international companies and talent, and with the economic boom came world-class infrastructure, education, and legal services.

“We saw the move from Indonesia to Singapore as a good thing for the family,” says Sajen. From a business point of view, Singapore provided a platform from which Tolaram could grow internationally and attract a pool of high calibre professionals.

“Back then, if you wanted to hire senior professionals, it was easier to do it in Singapore than in Indonesia,” he says.

Encouraged by Khanchand, Mohan and his family moved to the city-state in 1975, setting up Tolaram’s corporate headquarters in Satnam House in High Street, before moving to Colombo Court on North Bridge Road two years later.

Strengthening the core

Pre-1975, Singapore had primarily served as a procurement and financial base for the business. Now, Tolaram began laying the foundations for international expansion, adding several senior hires in leadership positions, and professionalising operations.

“This gave the company legs,” says Sajen. “The family was still involved in identifying business opportunities and making sure we had the right strategy, but then we hired the best available talent to execute it.”

Many of these senior hires would play significant roles in shaping the business as it moved forward. As they came on board, the third generation, too, earned their place in the Tolaram ecosystem, starting from the bottom, and mentored by professionals.

“Nobody from the family joined the business and immediately became a manager. When they joined, we usually had them start as warehouse supervisors,” says Mohan. “It was important that when they became managers or the head of a unit, that they should know how we managed inventory – which items were moving and which items had been lying idle for six months or a year. After a year or so, they were moved to marketing.

They needed to understand the issues of the business, and know how to manage people.”

It took five years for Tolaram to solidify its Singapore operations. By the late 1970s, the Singapore office had a staff of almost 25 people, and was ready to push its boundaries further.

Going further afield

The opportunity to take the Tolaram name international presented itself through the closely-knit Sindhi merchant network.

“I had a friend, Laju Chanrai, whose family had started doing business in Africa in the 1880s. We used to meet from time to time when he was in Singapore,” says Mohan. “Once we were chatting over lunch, and I told him that we were planning to diversify beyond Indonesia. He said to me, come to Africa, if you want to do business there, I’ll help you. That’s how I first went to Africa in 1977.”

A week in Nigeria and three days each in Ghana and the Ivory Coast convinced Mohan to place his bets on Nigeria. “Ghana and the Ivory Coast were too small but Nigeria had a population of 85 million then, and a per capita income that was, at that time, four times higher than Indonesia,” he recalls. “I saw a very big gap in the market for consumer electronics – TVs, cassettes, radios, videos, video players and so on – so I already knew what I was going to do there.”

Back at the Singapore headquarters, Mohan quickly put things into motion, contacting potential partners and arranging funding. Within weeks, he had formed a partnership with three others, each of whom brought their own expertise to the start-up. “One of my Indonesian partners already had

“After graduating in 1984, I spent a lot of time in the Singapore warehouse, reorganising and automating processes. With simple computer software, we could do in a couple of hours what previously took days,” recalls Sajen, who went on to join a team of analysts, preparing feasibility studies.

“The family business was growing its reach around the world, and our primary function was to support the industrialisation of the business outside Singapore. My first boss and mentor was Anil Divekar, Head of Projects, who led our industrial endeavours. He inculcated a strong work ethic in me.”

Decades later, Tolaram continues to pass on its business knowledge and values through mentorships. When Anil’s son, Makarand, joined the business in Estonia in 1998, he was mentored by Sonny.

From Singapore, Sajen would move to Nigeria, where he would spend almost 10 years growing Tolaram’s business in Africa’s largest consumer market. He would then move to South Africa before returning to Singapore in 2000 as Chief Executive

Sajen Aswani

Dr R.C. Cooper (1922-2013)

Dr R.C. Cooper joined Tolaram in 1975, some six years after rewriting Indian history when he took Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to court – and won. He vehemently opposed her overnight nationalisation of 14 Indian banks, and successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to reverse it.viii Relocating to Singapore in the 1970s, he now lent his formidable intellect to Tolaram. “A mutual friend introduced us,” recalls Mohan. “I was short of top professionals, so we had a chat, and he joined us. He ended up staying for close to 30 years.” A Londontrained chartered accountant with a PhD in Economics, Dr Cooper focussed on professionalising Tolaram’s business operations and setting up the necessary financial and people management systems. “It was he who suggested we move from High Street, where there were many distractions, to Colombo Court, where we had a whole floor and could concentrate on our international business.”

THE SINGAPORE ADVANTAGE

By the mid-1970s, Singapore was a thriving financial hub and an attractive base for businesses with global ambitions.

“Singapore’s growing reputation for reliability opened doors to countries that had a high regard for its rapid rise as an ‘Asian tiger’ despite its relative small size,” says Sajen. “The ability to secure credit facilities from international banks in Singapore was a key contributor to Tolaram’s growth. It enabled favourable trading terms with suppliers and partners, and helped establish long-lasting relationships across many countries. Singapore was also an attractive base for professionals who enjoyed the advanced infrastructure and comforts of the island nation. Tolaram grew in stature as a Singapore-based firm, evolving from a trading company into a corporate and industrial outfit.”

R.C. Cooper (second from left) focused on professionalising Tolaram’s expanding operations and setting up financial and people management systems. Pictured here (from left to right) with Raj Vaswani, Mohan, Vishu, and Ang Kok Leong

Singapore skyline photo: The Hebblewhite Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore

agencies for electronics for Indonesia, so it was not difficult to get the marketing rights for Nigeria, and another partner had experience in shipping and importing,” says Mohan.

“In all, it took about three months to start the business. We had to rent some space and get the approvals and business permits. As he had promised, Laju (Chanrai) helped,” says Mohan. “At first we shipped cargo from Indonesia through Singapore, then we started sourcing directly from Japan and Taiwan, where the factories were.”

Within a year, business was booming.

In 1982, Mohan was presented with another opportunity, this time in the United States, acquiring and restoring two

yarn-producing facilities in North Carolina to profitability. Its success led Tolaram to explore further backward integration opportunities in the US and in the UK, and in 1986, the company built a facility to produce polymers in Northeast England.

“I was travelling 75% of the time, and spending just 25% in Singapore. At that time, we didn’t have a lot of data available or the possibility to have a consultant do a viability study. You had your own observations of market demand and supply, and your gut feel,” recalls Mohan.

Meanwhile, encouraged by the success in Nigeria, Vishu led an expansion into other parts of Africa.

Tolaram expanded aggressively in the 1980s, establishing plants in Africa, the US and the UK. Its polymer plant in Northeast England was officially opened by King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, pictured here with Anil Divekar (second from right)

“Mr Vishu is a true gentleman. He is generous with his time, wisdom and resources. He is a man of his word and follows through with his commitments, whatever the cost”– Raj

His astute understanding of markets and ability to build relationships paved Tolaram’s way into Zaire, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, and Mozambique in the early 1980s. Under his leadership, Tolaram also set up and grew trading businesses in Panama and Spain. In the 1990s, the company went on to forge joint ventures with Monsanto (later known as Solutia) in Thailand and China.

“We had very strong views of growth and were not afraid to take on

challenges, even in unfamiliar territories. We just went for it,” says Vishu.

In Tolaram’s global expansion, the two partners played to their strengths. “We would brief each other, but for the manufacturing side, I was making the decisions, and for trading and distribution, Vishu was making the decisions,” Mohan says. “They were two separate operations. In trading and distribution, you see the cash flow immediately. You know how much profit you’ve made and can use that money for

Left to right: Raj, Haresh, Mohan, Vishu, Sajen and Sonny

something else. But in manufacturing, you sometimes don’t see profits for years. And there’s also capital expenditure ahead of cash flow. Upgrading, expanding capacity – there are so many things to consider. Of course, we discussed everything. We did not always agree, but we advised and supported each other. The intention was the same: for the business to succeed.”

Closer to home, Tolaram continued growing its presence in Indonesia, acquiring a majority share in a local bank with branches across the country. It also established a foothold in fields as broad as insurance, showroom and hotel furnishing, and real estate in the archipelago, and expanded its textile footprint by tying up with another prominent business family, the Thakrals, to establish PT Bitratex, a leading manufacturer and exporter of yarn in Semarang.

BUILDING CREDIBILITY IN NEW MARKETS

While Tolaram had secured production facilities in the US, convincing buyers was a whole different ball game. As a young company making its first forays onto the international stage, Tolaram had to first build credibility and gain trust. “Buyers wanted reliability, and were worried we would close down after six months,” recalls Mohan. “We had sent Jaggi (N.S. Jaganathan), our Vice President for Business Development from the Singapore office, to the US, and for almost a year, he struggled. Buyers would give him difficult jobs, like a sample that he had to match, as a trial. Our plant was small, so we could actually run it part way and produce that sample. For more than six months, that’s what we did. Slowly, we started gaining trust, and the business grew. Then we heard of a bigger plant that was going to shut down, so we leased that plant. And then there was another one that was four times bigger, and we kept growing. We started to produce raw materials, and we took over a few more companies that were also shutting down. By the time we exited the market, the US business was worth more than 20 times our initial investment. We had been in the US for 12 or 13 years.”

Pictured here (from left to right): N.S. Jaganathan, Mohan, Sajen, and Mike Bryan, who ran one of the company’s South African operations

“Vishu and I have always worked well together. We advise and guide each other.”

Mohan

–

“Even if we don’t agree with the other, we will support the ideas. There is no ‘I told you so’ or ‘Why did you keep doing that?’”

– Vishu

By the mid-1990’s, Tolaram’s US business – now restored to profitability and growing rapidly – was being courted by buyers. “An opportunity arose for us to divest the business at a significant profit, and we took it,” says Sajen.

Encouraged by the success of its strategy, and with the profits from the US sale in hand, Tolaram began aggressively acquiring manufacturing assets in different geographies that it planned to improve and sell at a profit. In the five-year period between 1995 and 2000, it added more than 20 companies to its portfolio. “We invested in companies in Eastern Europe, China, Ireland, Thailand and different parts of Africa. We used the proceeds from the US divestment on this expansion drive,” says Sajen.

Seizing new opportunities

On its expansion path, dead ends and detours were not uncommon.

Market and regulatory volatility together with currency fluctuations in Nigeria saw the four-way partnership established in the late 1970s dissolve in 1986.

Convinced of the potential of the market, Tolaram stayed on and rebuilt, this time focusing on manufacturing for the local market. By now, the third generation had come on board, and first Sajen, and later, Haresh, moved to Nigeria to oversee the Africa operations.

“Our Indonesian manufacturing arm Bitratex was selling to about 40 countries, and some were very demanding markets. There were two things that helped us succeed: the quality of our products and good service. Japan, for example, is a very difficult, very quality conscious market. But we introduced ourselves and we kept to our commitments, so we succeeded. And you know the Japanese mindset. Once they start buying from you, they don’t change”

– K.K. Agrawal, former President Director,

PT Bitratex Industries and PT Primayudha

Mandirijaya.

Agrawal retired after these were sold in 2018

“In any new business, you must expect some turbulence. What’s important is how you manage that turbulence. We have the infrastructure, helping hands, and knowledge in the family and in the professionals we hired. Put 10 or 12 of our top people together, and there are 300 years of knowledge you can tap on. Many have gone through those same problems and come up with solutions. There is a lot of knowledge that is important and useful” – Mohan

It was the lifting of the iron curtain in 1991 that led Sonny to seek opportunities in Moscow

Navigating the vast and unpredictable emerging market required an appetite for risk, and often, nerves of steel. “You began to think about things in entrepreneurial terms,” says Sajen. “If you were importing products, then you needed a way to make it available at a far lower cost than your competitors – you had to figure out something that they couldn’t.”

Meanwhile, Sonny Aswani, Padu’s youngest son and current Managing Director of the business in Estonia, sought Tolaram’s fortunes further north, in Russia. “Back in 1991, the Iron Curtain had just been lifted, and I wanted to see if there was anything we could do there,” he recalls.

Tolaram’s attempts to penetrate the Eastern bloc would take several twists and turns

before ending up in Tallinn, Estonia, in 1994, where the government of the newly-independent country was selling former state assets to private investors at attractive terms.

The following years would see Tolaram add several assets from all three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – to its portfolio, including Horizon Pulp & Paper, a key Tolaram business facility in the Estonian town of Kehra.

“At the end of the 1990s, we grew very rapidly. Almost every year, we bought a new factory – not small ones, but large ones. We also made acquisitions in the neighbouring Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania.”

– Urmas Reimand, then Head of Baltic Operations, Estonia

The Singapore office held the financial threads of Tolaram’s global operations. “We were the financing hub, so all trade was financed out of Singapore. Singapore had a good reputation, and having a corporate headquarters here gave us a lot of credibility,” says Ang Kok Leong, then Assistant Vice President for Accounts and Finance and now an advisor to the family. All of Tolaram’s business units were also monitored from the Singapore headquarters.

“When there was a crisis in Nigeria or a cash flow problem, the role of the Singapore office was to go to the bankers and explain honestly the reality of the situation,” says Mohan. “We would put everything on the table. We would say, we can’t make the payment now, we need three months or six months to sort it out. We got their support.”

“During the Nigerian balance of payments crisis in the 1980s, foreign exchange could not be sent out of Nigeria, but we still had to pay for the goods we received. So we were doubly hit. This was the first big crisis the Singapore office faced.”

– Ang

It was also here that senior leadership would gather to make key decisions.

Sajen recalls shuttling between Singapore and Nigeria in 1985. “There were plans made in Singapore that had to be executed in Nigeria. So you connected those dots. To see both sides was important from a corporate point of view.”

By the start of the new millennium, Tolaram had more than fulfilled the hopes Khanchand articulated decades earlier. The family business spanned the globe, from Asia and the Middle East to Africa, Europe and the US.

VALUES-BASED LEADERSHIP

Senior hires are inducted into the Tolaram family via its five core values: trust, courage, commitment, respect and humility, then given the autonomy to work with minimal interference, using these core values to guide decision-making.

When someone is hired, the guiding principles are explained says Harpal Singh Hundal, Tolaram’s Indonesia-based CEO of Insurtech. At the end of their orientation, they create a report that includes how they see these guiding principles implemented or violated in any of the companies or functions. “At the time I was hired, I happened to spot something and put that in my report,” he recalls. “The CEO, Mr Prem, asked me if I was sure about it, and I said I was. So he appointed me as COO for that particular business, so I would have the opportunity to solve the problem. I was at first reluctant, it was a

tough job and I was afraid to fail, but he told me: ‘It is not you who will fail. I am taking a risk on you. If you fail, it means I have failed. I’m betting on you’.”

The same set of values are applied in other business relationships. “Wherever in the world we go, we inform our potential partners, ‘This is what we are all about’. It takes time and effort to communicate this because people grow up with different ideas and different philosophies, but we explain why we believe in our values, and why they must be the basis of the business relationship,” says Haresh.

Occasionally, the relationship does not work out. “Different people have different challenges, different characters, and different styles,” he says. “Sometimes, there is no fit.”

The Consumer Business leadership team at a Strategic Planning meeting in Mykonos in 2017

Ang Kok Leong

From Colombo Court to the International Business Park

“I joined Tolaram in 1977 when we were still in Colombo Court, and grew in the company, so to speak,” says Ang, “It was a small office with eight staff or so, and we shared a conference room with Premchand & Sons. Part of Dr Cooper’s and my job was to corporatise the Singapore company – a sole proprietorship then called Tolaram Impex – and set it up as a private limited company. In those days, we were mostly trading in electronics and textiles, like most Sindhi businessmen. We bought textiles from all the traditional sources – Japan, Korea, Taiwan – and brought them to Indonesia.

From the early 1980s, we began expanding very quickly with businesses in Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, even

Panama, Spain, and China. Some were trading offices, some were manufacturing businesses. We moved to UIC Building in Shenton Way. We had a whole floor there and shared common facilities, like our reception, with a sister group called Panwell Group. UIC was very modern, with glass cabins, lots of sunlight, and the team was bigger. The Singapore office had two main roles: financing our trading activities, and administration. From UIC, we moved to GMG Building on Robinson Road, which we jointly owned. There were more than 50 of us, so again, we had the whole floor. That was in the 2000s, when we had some difficult years. Then we moved back to UIC for a few years, and in 2010, we shifted to this site in the International Business Park.”

Ang (far left) was core to the leadership team at the Singapore office.

Pictured here at UIC Building

DRIVERS OF GROWTH

PEOPLE FIRST

“We don’t see business units. We see people with families, roles and lives. We need them, and they need us – that’s why we can’t help but consider them as family. On their end, they must take ownership of their roles, because we depend on each other.”

A LONG-TERM VIEW

“Barely six months into my time here, there was a huge devaluation in Indonesia, and we lost a lot of money. I had a look through the Indonesian companies’ accounts myself to determine the loss. At 6 pm, Mr Mohan walked in. “What are you calculating?” he asked me. “How much we lost, is it? Never mind, we will earn it back.”

NO FINGER POINTING

“If we fail, we don’t play the blame game. Nobody says ‘you did this’ or ‘this was not done by me’. You own up to it and say, okay, I made the decision. It did not work out, and this is the cost and this is the learning. But this failure was not because of a lack of diligence or effort. It was simply an idea that did not work.”

– Vishu Adnani

– Ang Kok Leong

– Vishal Tulsian

(From left to right) Real Estate Manager Alvin Tan, Ang, Vishu and Resident Technical Officer Chow Kong Seng

AN APPETITE FOR RISK

“I really think that the main reason why this business has been so successful is the fact that the promoters, the company’s leaders are really bold entrepreneurs. They are always curious, they are willing to learn new things, and they are ready to take risks.”

A RELATIONSHIP OF EQUALS

“We treat each other as equals – it doesn’t matter if it’s Mr Sajen, Mr Haresh or even Mr Mohan. Any employee can challenge and even disagree with them, there are no barriers.”

FOCUS

“In the early days, we were dabbling in a lot of commodities and products, some of which did not fit with our profile, like importing perfumes. It wasn’t a focus for us. As a business we decided to move away from products that we didn’t see long-term benefit in, or that we couldn’t actually manufacture in that market.”

– Urmas Reimand

– Prem Chiruvolu

THE FREEDOM TO LEAD

While Singapore served as the “command centre”, where new acquisitions were analysed and major decisions made, the actual operations were left to the professionals on the ground.

“One of the strongest aspects of Tolaram is that it gives the people on the ground the freedom to make decisions,” says Bashyam Krishnan, CEO of Horizon Pulp & Paper in Estonia. “It’s not that you are completely independent. Any big ticket capital expenditures or investments still need to go through the Board. But the trust and autonomy you are given makes the day-to-day running of the business much easier and faster. Everything has a shelf life, including decisions. If you can make them quickly, you realise the outcome of the decisions quickly as well. The process is enjoyable and brings efficiency in realising what the business needs to achieve.”

– Haresh Aswani

Bashyam Krishnan

MOHAN: CHAIRMAN, MENTOR, FATHER, FRIEND

Top left: Mohan and his son, Tom Vaswani

Bottom left: With Chief Joseph Sanusi, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 1999 to 2004 Centre: With Yeoh Seang Aun from the Rotary Club, during Mohan’s 60th birthday dinner at the Raffles Hotel in 1998 Far right: With Kawita and their grandchildren

“As a mentor, he gives you the ability to look at things from a different perspective. He has this knack of finding solutions when you think there are none. As a boss, he leads by example and never gives up on his goals. As a father, he is caring and selfless, always ready to listen and provide encouragement and support. As a man, he is a lifelong learner who is not afraid of taking calculated risks.”

– Raj Vaswani

“He is one of the most unique people I’ve ever met. He is a good businessman, but he does everything with his heart. That shines through in everything he says. It really struck me and stuck with me for a long time.”

– Dr Marleen Dieleman

“Through his own generosity, he instilled in us the importance of giving, and giving back –the idea that we were more than an individual or a family, and that whenever we moved forward, we should do that collectively, bringing others with us.” – Sandhya Aswani

“I’ve interacted a lot with him, especially in my role as CEO for the port project, given that this is a passion for him too. He’s very tenacious, and it’s mainly because of him that we’ve pushed forward with the project despite all the challenges we’ve faced. That’s something that I have learnt from him –tenacity. That, and humility.”

– Navin Nahata

“When you meet the Chairman, there isn’t a single ounce of arrogance in him. He does not take anyone for granted, and naturally treats everyone with respect. A lot of people give lip service to humility, but in the Chairman, it is in each and every gesture he makes.”

– Vishal Tulsian

From to Traders Brand-builders

Tolaram sets up a trading business in Nigeria; begins importing and distributing electronics in the country

Begins assembling electronics in Lagos

Foreign exchange crisis; Tolaram decides to stay and rebuild

Sajen and his family move to Lagos

Focus shifts to manufacturing; Tolaram establishes several textile-related plants in Lagos and Port Harcourt

Haresh and his family move to Lagos

Enters into a joint venture with the Salim Group; first noodle plant begins operations in Ota

Establishes distribution arm Multipro with four branches covering Nigeria

Senior professionals join the business in Nigeria

Groundbreaking for the Lagos Free Zone

Tolaram enters the home care category

Mohan and then CEO of Kellogg, John Bryant, open the US$100 million Kellogg-Tolaram cereal manufacturing plant in the Lagos Free Zone in 2017

“We evolved from traders to manufacturers, and from manufacturers to brand-builders. As our commitment to Africa grew, we began to invest in its development and in its infrastructure” – Haresh Aswani

As it entered the 1980s, the early success Tolaram experienced in Nigeria came up against the political and economic realities of the vast but unpredictable developing market.

Hard hit by the global economic recession and plummeting oil prices, Nigeria’s foreign exchange receipts dipped alarmingly. In a desperate attempt to stem the massive outflow, the government implemented a round of foreign exchange and import controls in 1982, which intensified over the next few yearsix

As Nigeria tightened its belt, importdependent businesses, including Tolaram, felt the pinch.

“The Nigerian financial crisis meant our companies couldn’t remit hard currency, and we owed huge debts to the parent company,” recalls Sajen.

With no easy solutions, the three partners with whom Tolaram had entered the market in 1977 decided to reduce their exposure. While Nigeria was the most populous African country, and the one with the largest GDP, the constant political and currency upheavals had worn them down.

Tolaram went in the opposite direction.

“We believed that Nigeria was still a very lucrative market,” says Sajen, who was sent to Africa to revive the business in 1985. “Our main task was to come up with innovative ways to recover and rebuild.”

Navigating risks, seizing opportunities

Adapting to the changing financial and political realities of an emerging market would be a skill that would define – and shape – Tolaram’s business as it expanded across the African continent, from Nigeria to South Africa.

In the decades that followed, the company would also evolve from importers to manufacturers, and in the 2000s, to brand-builders.

The opening of a fibre manufacturing plant in Port Harcourt in 1988 reflected Tolaram’s shift from trade to manufacturing in Africa

From importing electronics in 1977, Tolaram quickly moved to assembling locally, which was more competitive and allowed greater flexibility than importing finished products. The foreign exchange crisis of the 1980s saw the business shift again, scaling down on imports, which now also included consumer products, to focus on manufacturing. “When the government defaulted on its foreign exchange obligations, it issued promissory notes,” explains Sajen. “We used these notes to restructure our loans in Singapore, and converted some of them into equity to build manufacturing plants in Nigeria.”

From its trading portfolio, Tolaram identified the products with the largest demand, did the sums, and decided which would be profitable to manufacture locally. Having honed its industrial capabilities in Indonesia in the early 1980s, it understood the key elements of a manufacturing-led business, and now applied those learnings in Africa. To mitigate the ever-present risk of currency devaluation, Tolaram also changed the way it financed its investments. “In the past, we would finance our trade from outside Africa. We turned that around, and built a capacity to raise money in Nigeria,” says Sajen. “That emboldened us. Since we had eliminated or mitigated foreign exchange risks, we invested again.”

Between 1986 and 1990, the company built several textile-related plants in quick succession in Lagos and Port Harcourt. Besides putting the business back on track, the move established Tolaram as a serious investor in Nigeria. “It gave us credibility and legitimacy in the country because they realised that we were there to stay,” he says. 2011 2012 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023

First automated noodle plant built in Kaduna, Nigeria

Concession for Lekki Port is secured

Tolaram enters into joint ventures with Danish dairy company Arla and US food giant Kellogg

Kellogg-Tolaram begins cereal production in Nigeria; JV extended to Egypt and South Africa

Establishes an instant noodle manufacturing facility in Ghana

Establishes an instant noodle manufacturing facility in Egypt

Enters into a joint venture with Colgate-Palmolive to build the brand’s first factory in Africa

Construction of Lekki Deep Sea Port begins

Construction for Phase 1 of Lagos Free Zone begins

Establishes an instant noodle manufacturing facility in the Kingdom of Eswatini

Lekki Deep Sea Port officially commissioned; commercial operations begin

“What attracted me to Nigeria was the challenge,” says Haresh. “It was unknown territory – you had to start everything from scratch, build relationships, get to know the system, the terrain, the habits, the buying policies, and because of the currency fluctuations, it was a cash market – the moment you sold something and got your money, you had to find an exchange company or a bank to fix your cost. It was a very fast-paced market.

My first trip to Nigeria was on May 1, 1988. I remember it was a Sunday. I arrived at 5 am, took a nap at Sajen’s house, woke up at noon, had a cold beer with him, and he asked me to move there. I spent the next month and a half

exploring Nigeria, by road and by plane. Then I went back, picked up my family, and was back on September 1. Fortunately, the house next to my brother’s was available – we broke the wall in between, and shared a generator, water pumps and a security guard. We tried to maintain the best security available, but the best security at the time was a one-eyed guard from the North – they were well known for providing security. Sajen and I would meet early in the morning and then after work, in the evenings, to analyse what we did and what needed to be done. Our first priority was to build trust with the local community – we were committed to Nigeria and were here to stay.”

In 2005, Haresh was awarded the Chieftaincy title “Baagbile Korede of Ota” by the Olota of Ota, where Tolaram established its first noodle plant in 1995. It is a title that fittingly translates into “He who came to contribute”. Haresh remains Singapore’s Honorary ConsulGeneral to Nigeria, and is now Chairman of the Africa Business Group in Singapore.

In 2005, Haresh was awarded the Chieftaincy title “Baagbile Korede of Ota” by the Olota of Ota, recognising his and Tolaram’s commitment to the economic development of Nigeria in general, and the Ota community in particular

The family settled in Apapa, near the Lagos Port Complex, where they shared a generator, water pumps and a security guard with Sajen, who lived in the house next door. Clockwise from left: Malti, Haresh, Vivek and Anusha

Haresh Aswani

By that time, Sajen and his wife, Minu, had been living in Lagos for several years.

Haresh, his wife Malti, and two-year-old Anusha moved from Indonesia to join them in late 1988, an indication of both the potential of the African market and Tolaram’s commitment to it. The brothers would put down roots and build their lives in the continent.

“The fact that we were physically present, living there, also helped us understand the landscape better,” says Sajen.

Making the leap into consumer goods

In 1996, Tolaram ventured beyond textilerelated manufacturing and entered into a joint venture with Indonesia’s Salim Group to manufacture instant noodles locally. The company had been importing the popular instant noodle brand Indomie to Nigeria

since 1988, and from 1992, sales volume had begun to pick up. “In those days, your freight rates were 40% of your costs. From a logistics standpoint, once we were importing 40 to 50 containers a month, it made more sense to manufacture it locally,” says Haresh. The joint venture’s first plant, located in the town of Ota, an hour’s drive from Lagos, began operations in 1996. A second plant in Choba, Port Harcourt, opened in 2003 and a third in Kaduna opened in 2011.

It was a tough sell convincing the Indonesian giant to co-invest in a manufacturing facility, and later, to stay with the investment, Haresh admits. Although sales were growing, the business was still losing money. “They threatened to pull out and offered to sell their stake to us,” he recalls. “We asked them to give us another year to turn it around.” By 2000, the trend had reversed quite dramatically.

The joint venture established its first noodle plant in 1996, manufacturing Indomie locally

THE CREATION OF A MEGA INDUSTRY

There was every logical reason to expect an inexpensive, easy-to-prepare meal to take off in a country with a fast-growing and predominantly young urban population. With an average of five children per family, instant noodles would also be an ideal meal option for the busy Nigerian mother. In reality, the Nigerians did not quite know what to make of this strange and unfamiliar food. As a result, the business stayed in the red. It took a significant amount of trial and error before an idea from an advertising agency turned the tide. “They told us we were going about it wrong. Instead of focusing on distribution, what we needed to do was teach the Africans how to cook and eat the noodles,” recalls Haresh. “So in 1990, we launched a campaign where we taught people how to make the noodles – first open the packet, then add two cups of water, let it boil for a

few minutes, then add the seasoning – we went out to schools and supermarkets and demonstrated it step-by-step.”

Next, it needed to get the noodles to where the consumers lived and shopped. In 1996, Tolaram set up Multipro, a local distribution company, initially with four branches, growing to 11 in the year 2000 to cover 70% of the Nigerian market. “It made my job easier because I could fly to a location, and the noodles would already be there. Our job was to convince people to buy the product,” says Haresh.

On the ground in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, a team of 500 took to the streets with two bags of noodles apiece. The city’s notorious traffic jams gave them plenty of opportunity to offer Indomie as an

alternative to making a supermarket detour, or as a treat for children waiting at home. “This went on for quite a while, until 2004,” says Haresh. With the brand gaining popularity, traders from neighbouring Niger, Cameroon, and even Ghana, soon began carrying Indomie across the border to their markets. “They just picked up the product from retailers and took it back. It went all over West Africa.”

The final ingredient was the right people. “We had a good team of 25, and in 2000, we began hiring professionals and reorganising the business,” says Haresh. The same year, the noodle business turned the corner and broke even. The following year, it broke the 100,000 cartons barrier, and by 2004, the company was putting more than a million cartons – the equivalent of 40 million packs – on shop shelves each month.

As sales grew, however, kinks in the supply chain began to show up – promised raw materials failed to be delivered, prices changed without notice, and occasionally, the products supplied fell below quality specifications. “The rate at which we were growing was being dictated by the quality and quantity of the raw materials we were able to get. We knew that if we wanted to grow faster we would have to control our own destiny,” Haresh says.

The following years would see the business focus on vertical integration, setting up a packaging manufacturing plant, a seasoning plant, flour mills and an oil mill to support its growing instant noodle business. In 2011, it launched its first automated noodle plant in Kaduna, in north-central Nigeria, which also produces the world’s largest noodle

Marketing teams hit the ground, teaching Nigerians how to make and eat the noodles. It did not take long for Indomie to become synonymous with instant noodles in the country, and Haresh soon came to be known as “Baba Indomie”

From schools to street junctions, Indomie made its mark, winning taste buds and hearts

blocks. “It’s only available there – the idea was to make it affordable for people to buy,” Haresh says. By the second decade of the millennium, there were over half a dozen plants supporting the instant noodle business in Nigeria alone. To feed the growing appetite for instant noodles in other African countries, manufacturing facilities were established in Ghana (2019), Egypt (2019), and the Kingdom of Eswatini (2021).

Today, Tolaram’s instant noodle business sells more than 350,000 metric tons of noodles in Africa each year – the equivalent of 5 billion packets – and provides employment to over 15,000 people. Nigeria has one of the highest noodle consumption rates in the world, and the dish, once strange

and unfamiliar, has become a staple in both Nigerian households and pop culture, cropping up every now and again in the lyrics of local rap artists.

Haresh, himself, has become so closely connected to the brand that he is known locally as “Baba Indomie”.

“So when you make assessments of what is viable, what is sustainable, what could be a long-term business, you have to consider many factors. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don’t. To succeed, we needed to be resilient and continually reinvent ourselves” – Sajen

The partnership with the Salim Group proved invaluable in many ways, says Sajen. “As a business, we had stopped thinking in trading terms and started thinking in terms of how to build the business with manufacturing as the backbone,” he says. “Now, we gained an understanding of the value of building a brand. We understood that if we put enough resources behind a brand, it could become an intangible asset of great value.”

It also led to what Sajen calls an ‘aha moment’. Until then, Tolaram’s businesses in Nigeria had primarily been selling a mix of textiles and consumer products to other businesses. Indomie opened its eyes to the staggering potential of selling fast-moving consumer goods directly to a massive and rapidly growing population. “You wouldn’t be selling to just seven or eight large customers for a smaller fee, but to millions of consumers across the country,” says Sajen. “Making the shift from B2B to B2C was a game changer.”

With the market for textile products increasingly vulnerable to cheaper Asian imports, Tolaram actively began to scale down its investments in textiles, and shift its focus to consumer goods.

“In the past, when we had partnerships, they were with other individuals or families. Salim Group was a large institutional partnership. We learnt how to operate a joint venture, how to build a workable partnership, and how to create an effective governance structure around it – it became the foundation for our partnerships with other principals elsewhere.” – Sajen

From left to right: Thomas Tjhie, CFO of Indofood, Salim Group head Anthoni Salim, and Sajen

The typically low incomes in the emerging market meant that scale would be key, says Sajen. Whatever Tolaram produced had to meet the needs of as many people as possible.

“We used the ‘three As’: make sure the product is Affordable to the local population, Acceptable to them, and Available where they are. Whatever it takes to get these three As right is the kind of work that we do behind the scenes.”

A new direction

The 2000s kicked off a new phase of growth for Tolaram in Nigeria, defined by further expansion and professionalisation in the first decade, and a focus on brand building in the second.

The decade opened with the appointment of key professionals, including Prem Chiruvolu in 2000. Formerly marketing director for Colgate-Palmolive in Africa for 20 years, Prem was tasked with professionalising Tolaram’s Africa businesses, and growing its brand and marketing reach.

Prem became Tolaram’s CEO in Africa in 2002, and would be instrumental in developing Tolaram’s consumer goods business, and grooming its talent pool before passing the baton to Deepak Singhal in 2014.

Major decisions, including on new products and ventures, were now made jointly by the new management and business shareholders, based on hard data.

“One of the things that was always important to me was diversity in thinking and unity in implementation. So we could sit in a conference room and have different opinions and different ways of looking at things, but once we agreed on something, the whole team would work towards that goal,” says Prem.

This approach allowed the company to seek out new opportunities.

“We had embarked on manufacturing, and now we asked ourselves what else we could do,” recalls Haresh, who continues to oversee the business as Managing Director for Africa. “We started to look for categories in the consumer goods space where there were gaps. We had an on-the-ground presence, and that gave us information, but we also sent teams out to collect data, and outsourced research. This enabled more informed decision-making, and allowed us to do things better.”

By the mid-2000s, Tolaram was responsible for creating more than 8,000 manufacturing and related jobs in Nigeria

In 2011, Tolaram identified a gap in the bleach category, adding home and personal care products to its growing offerings. Research simultaneously surfaced an opportunity for Tolaram to be more affordable to the Nigerian people by offering single serve sachets.

ADVANCING PROFESSIONALISATION

“We hired chartered accountants, 12 to 15 of them. Deepak was one, Navin Nahata was another. My direction to them was to gather information. It didn’t matter if it was good information or bad information, it had to be fact-based and truthful. So they went through all the companies and we began to restructure the finance and accounting departments.

That was the first phase. Then, I sat down with Sajen and Haresh, and we outlined the principles that would guide decisionmaking both internally and with our clients and partners: Trust, Transparency, Win-Win, Mutual Benefit and Long-term Commitment. These would be reflected in all our relationships, and we created a team of young people who understood this. In any

conflict, we looked to see which of these guiding principles had been violated.

Once these guiding principles were in place and the financial department was in order, we hired young graduates to set up our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Now we could access fact-based information, and quickly. We also replaced the old screens we had in those days. We made sure our senior executives had laptops – the day they joined, there would be a laptop on their desk. And we saw the results in the office and in the business.

We knew we were on the right path when our counterparts in other companies came to us to ask us how we were doing it, and if we could advise them.” – Prem

The Tolaram team at the opening of the Kellogg-Tolaram plant in December 2017

BUILDING BRANDS

“It’s so ubiquitous that, for many Nigerians, all noodles are Indomie”

– VICE Media x

“We believed Nigeria was branddriven, and we were ready to invest in building ours,” says Haresh.

“The biggest thing we did was sampling — every week we would go to schools and hand out Indomie samples. We started small, and realised that once the kids had tasted it, the conversion rate was very high. So we went from handing out 10,000 packs to handing out 20,000 packs, then a million, two million, and now five million packs per year.

At the same time, we had a huge advertising and promotions (A&P) campaign – on buses, billboards, and in print. Since televisions needed electricity and the chances of people

having electricity at home was low, we focused on radio. Every Nigerian had a transistor radio because if the government changed or there was a security situation, you would hear it on the radio. It was the biggest media channel in Nigeria, so we invested in it. Our A&P budget grew from a couple of percent of our revenue to 10%. We took the same approach with Hypo in 2011. We gave out single sachets to communities and hospitals so they could see for themselves how effective it was, and it changed their level of hygiene. Today, Nigerians use Indomie generically for all instant noodles, and Hypo for all bleach.”

“If you give any child in Nigeria instant noodles and it’s not Indomie, they’ll turn you down”

– Kate Ehwarieme, Logistics Operations Manager, Dufil

In 2021, both Indomie and Hypo were named among Nigeria’s Top Ten brands by the Council of Superbrands Nigeria. The ranking is based on consumer feedback on 10 distinct attributes: trust, prestige, intangible assets, distinction, reliability, quality, consumer assurance, credibility, market leadership and exposure. Superbrands is the world’s largest independent arbiter of brandingxi .

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Tolaram made its cleaning products available to medical personnel and even more affordable to the public

“Much of the reason for our success was our allegiance to our principles and values. Instead of trying to manage businesses, we took care of our people who, in turn, took care of the business. It helped the business –especially the food business – to flourish”

– Navin Nahata, Managing Director, Fintech & Infrastructure

“At that time, there was just one company in the market, and it was selling bottle-size bleach. We came up with sachets, and that brought it to the retail level. That’s how we cornered the market,” says Haresh. Over the next few years, it adopted the same strategy for products from cooking oil to milk, cereal and snack foods. “We made them available, affordable, and of course acceptable. These are the three things that we continue to focus on.”

A partner in building brands

By the second decade of the millennium, Tolaram’s hard-won experience in Nigeria had made it a sought-after partner to multinational companies keen for a slice of Africa’s largest market.

In 2015, Tolaram entered into joint ventures with Danish dairy company Arla and US food multinational Kellogg. In 2019, it tied up with Colgate-Palmolive to build the US consumer products company’s sixth factory in the world, and first in Africa. This was followed by an exclusive distribution agreement with Kimberly-Clark in 2021.

While its international partners benefited from Tolaram’s experience in the continent, the gains were not one way, says Haresh. “We learnt a lot from them, too, especially in the initial days, with Arla and Kellogg. We saw their approaches to corporate governance, and we adapted. That’s what made us attractive to other potential partners.”

“You can’t apply the usual marketing principles here, you have to create a playbook as you go. We have the advantage of having focused on Nigeria. It’s our primary market, we have lived here and worked here.” – Haresh

Kellogg was also a milestone for Tolaram and how it was perceived in the market. “People started recognising us as a major consumer goods player,” says Haresh. The partnership has since expanded to include a US$100 million manufacturing plant where Kellogg’s most popular cereals are manufactured locally. Kellogg and Tolaram also jointly created Kellogg’s instant noodles, which will be marketed across Africa. “It was a very big step for both of us, and for Kellogg, noodles were a completely new product,” says Haresh. In 2019, the partners established a manufacturing plant in Egypt, followed by another in the Kingdom of

Eswatini in 2021 to serve the Egyptian and South African markets.

Together, the partners were well placed to weather any storm. “Of course the frequent devaluations impacted us, but we were financing our assets locally rather than overseas so we mitigated our risks, which meant mitigating our partners’ risks too,” says Haresh.

Also key was transparency, he says. “From Day One, we were very clear about the risks involved in doing business in Africa. We’ve been here for 40 years, and the naira has gone from two naira to US$1, to 600 naira to US$1 today.”

Ananda Sivaram, Senior Director of Operations Nigeria (right) with Haresh

“The initial years, we struggled to obtain import licences and foreign exchange,” recalls Ananda Sivaram, who joined Tolaram in 1985 as Vice President of Business Development (Singapore), and spent 26 years with the business in Nigeria. “During my first few months, I was moving around in shared taxis, typing letters and personally delivering them.

Communication with Singapore was difficult, and we couldn’t afford to delay making certain hard decisions, which under normal circumstances, would have needed the agreement of the owners. One important lesson I learnt was to make decisions and accept that not all of them would be the right ones. More than 80% of success depends on hard work, commitment and the trust of the owners. I must confess that I valued the faith and trust the owners had in me.”

Pictured here (from left to right): Prem, Sajen, Kellogg’s Vice Chairman & CFO Amit Banati, Kawita, Mohan, and Kellogg’s then CEO John Bryant kick off the celebrations at Conclave 2017, an annual Tolaram corporate event

A VALUED PARTNER: KELLOGG

In 2015, Tolaram entered into a joint venture with breakfast and snack food giant Kellogg to create snacks and noodles for the African market. On December 1, 2017, the partners opened a US$100 million cereal plant in the Lagos Free Zone. Today, Kellogg-Tolaram is the single largest player in the cereal category in Africa. The joint venture launched Kellogg’s Noodles in Egypt and South Africa the same year.

Then President and CEO of Colgate-Palmolive, Noel Wallace (sixth from the left) visits the Africa team in 2021. The Colgate-Tolaram joint venture, inked in 2019, would leverage Tolaram’s manufacturing, marketing and distribution strengths for the oral, personal and home-care categories

Deepak, Tolaram’s then CEO of the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Business with Steen Hadsbjerg, then Vice President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Arla Foods, at the signing of the joint venture in 2015

Prem Chiruvolu

Cultivating an ownership mindset

“I asked myself what the most frustrating thing for me was when I was a marketing trainee many years ago, and the answer was the limitations to what I could do. If only somebody had given me a chance, I could have done a much better job,” says Prem Chiruvolu.

“So what we did was remove that particular hurdle for our people so they would have the opportunity to experiment, with their seniors acting as mentors and guides rather than as obstacles and hurdles.

We hired fresh graduates with zero experience who we could groom ourselves. When you hire

an athlete that already plays in a particular position, they come with the way they were trained, and you have to adapt to them. So we didn’t hire for a position. We hired the best athletes and taught them to play the position required. During the interview, we got to know what they were made of, and we went with our gut feeling. All the key positions were given to young graduates who wanted to learn and do things, and we taught them.

Our approach was to ‘train the gaps and fill the voids’ – training the gaps meant promoting internally, and when there was no talent

The professionalisation drive resulted in hires like Porus Doctor (left), who then headed sales for Indomie at Port Harcourt, and Prem Chiruvolu, who helped grow Tolaram’s consumer business

available internally, we hired from outside the organisation.

Tolaram has no layers or hierarchies, so a marketer-in-training could sit down with Sajen or Haresh, or the Chairman, and have a discussion. We encouraged them to take risks, we told them that it was okay to fail, that no one would blame them. So they took the initiative because they knew they had our backing – and the results came in. Our financial strength kept growing, and more and more people wanted to join us. That’s how we transformed the organisation.”

“Porus Doctor, then head of sales at Port Harcourt, on his own initiative, hired young people to cook and sell Indomie at roadside stalls during lunchtime. Indomie Cafe, Nigeria’s first noodle bar, is based on a similar concept of downscale distribution – we have seven cafes across Lagos that serve a variety of local and international fusion flavours, including Szechuan and Italiana. The seeds for a lot of the things we are doing now were sown with initiatives like his.” – Prem

As of 2022, Tolaram had 22 manufacturing plants in Nigeria alone, as well as a fleet of more than 4,000 trucks and an ecosystem of distributors and sub-distributors

While much has changed over the years, the transparency and trust that underlies all of Tolaram’s relationships, from employees to partners, remain constant. “That’s key,” says Haresh. “You can discuss strategies, investment opportunities, and management styles, but if I trust my partner and my partner trusts me, then it’s simpler because we know that everything is on the table.”

Venturing into Infrastructure

In January 2023, Tolaram completed the first phase of a massive 850-hectare infrastructure project comprising the Lagos Free Zone and Lekki Deep Sea Port, which had been in the works for more than a decade. Developed in a public-private partnership with Nigerian and Chinese state-owned enterprises, it represents Tolaram’s first foray into infrastructure. The port is now operational, and the Free Zone is being built out further. “Kellogg, Arla, Colgate, Insignia, and Raffles Oil are already located there,” says Haresh. “It makes sense: it’s next to the port, so logistics and customs are there for goods and materials that come in, and it’s conveniently placed for export to other West African countries.”

Moving into the third decade of the millennium, Haresh is optimistic about Tolaram’s future in Africa. Following its expansion into Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, The business is now looking at other potential markets, including Turkey. “If you want to be a global player, Africa is a market you can’t ignore – the potential is huge,” he says. “But you can’t go in with a passport in your pocket and a 5-year plan. You have to take a longterm view – and you have to have a strong stomach.”

BREAKING NEW GROUND

“By early 2000, we had been operating in Nigeria for nearly 25 years,” says Navin. “We were importing a variety of products, so we were familiar with the current port conditions. Most were 60 to 70 years old and posed a significant bottleneck for trade into and out of the country. Once we started exploring the idea of building a port, we quickly realised that to truly transform the infrastructure and logistics landscape, we

needed to build an entire ecosystem that supported doing business in the region. As a company, we had no background in port development. But again, we’ve always made bold decisions. This was one of those bold decisions. It was also our way of giving back to the country and communities that have been hosts to many of our successful enterprises. Instinctively, it made a lot of sense to us.”

Groundbreaking prayers for the Lagos Free Zone development in October 2002. Haresh and his wife Malti, and Vishu and his wife Lavina

Family members and key staff members participate in the prayers

Key Lekki Port investors meet with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at Lagos State House Marina after the start of construction in March 2018

CUSHIONING THE IMPACT: THE 2016 FINANCIAL CRISIS

In 2016, Nigeria entered its worst recession in almost three decades. Businesses struggled to keep their heads above water as the naira plungedxii. Tolaram was not spared. However, the decision was made that no employee would lose their job or suffer a pay cut.

“We had over 11,500 employees in Africa at that time – so we would have impacted over 11,500 families directly. That’s maybe 50,000 to 100,000 people. We take that very seriously. We are doing more there than just making a profit. In a country where there is 40% to 50% unemployment, a job is a big thing.”

– Sajen

“When you work in Nigeria, you should assume there will be a crisis, and especially a financial crisis, because things are so fluid, they can go awry instantly. We just told ourselves, this is expected in Nigeria, and dealt with it. We never thought about firing or retrenching, in fact we hired even more people to be ready for a turnaround.” – Prem

“The currency devalued more than 100% against the US Dollar in a span of two years. The team worked relentlessly to mitigate its impact. Profitability was hit but we continued setting up new facilities and buying out the competition. We refused to back down and emerged stronger, and with a higher market share.” – Deepak

DIVEKAR:

A TIRELESS MENTOR

Vivek Aswani

A new generation in the wings

“I’d grown up around the business – Dad and Prem would have meetings in our apartment for hours every night. Before getting into bed, I would go in to say goodnight, and they would still be talking about the business. My first proper internship was in 2012. I say proper because there was an induction period, there were people I was working with, and it was structured. By that time we already had the Kaduna factory, Port Harcourt, the operations in Ota, and had started things like Hypo. It was the first time I really travelled around Nigeria, to our markets in the east, our factory in the north, to Abuja for meetings… I basically saw the full extent of the operations. I also took on different roles – I spent time in the warehouse to understand how it worked; with the finance team to see how the accounting was done; and in the market with the sales team, to understand our relationship with distributors and how products were sold. Our operations, even in Nigeria alone, are very large, it takes a long time to understand them, so what I got was general exposure for 6 to 8 weeks. I also went to Ghana because we were starting to distribute products there. I got to travel and learn, that was the big takeaway, and I got to build relationships with people. I was 20.”

Sajen and Haresh commissioned a tribute to the late Anil Divekar, who led Tolaram’s industrial endeavours and was one of Sajen’s early mentors. The bust stands at the Lucky Fibres plant in Ikorodu, in north-east Lagos

LESSONS IN TRUST

“Every day, we had people go out and talk to 1,000 housewives, asking them five or six questions about our credibility and any rumours they had heard. What we found was that people were giving us the benefit of doubt. I was confident that we would come out of this stronger. In three months, the brand turned around and we were selling even more than before”

– Prem Chiruvolu

In 2004, Tolaram found itself grappling with a different type of crisis. A post in a chat group claiming that a young man had died after eating Indomie had gone viral. By the following day, it had made the national news, with one newspaper headline screaming ‘Killer Indomie’. “We took the bull by the horns,” says Prem. “We went to the authorities and offered to shut down all our noodle factories. We also removed Indomie from the shelves, and opened ourselves up to a complete audit.” In the end, the investigation confirmed that the victim had suffered an unrelated heart attack – but the battle in the court of public opinion remained to be won. We took to the streets, remembers Manish Tibrewal, then Multipro’s Regional Finance Controller. “All of us were on the road, cooking noodles and eating noodles to demonstrate that they were safe. It didn’t matter that I was in finance, I was one of the soldiers, so to speak.”

Haresh tasting a bowl of Indomie to show that it was safe

What also helped quell the negative publicity was the wave of support from shareholders, distributors, retailers, and even ministry officials who publicly rallied behind the brand and company. “Whenever a minister came to visit the factory, we would make a bowl of noodles in front of him, and then he would eat it and announce that it was safe. That was a turning point for us,” says Haresh. The incident had two key outcomes: ironically, people trusted the product more following the crisis, so the brand came out of the incident stronger. For Tolaram, it instigated a wave of further improvements in quality control and processes across its plants. “We already had processes in place, but we decided to do more. We upped hygiene standards further, and we began to do more checks – so it did change quite a few things.”

“One of the most important things we’ve managed to do in Nigeria is build trust with the people there – the government, our bankers, our business partners, consumers – we have a transparent and respectful relationship.” – Haresh

Members of the Africa leadership team at Conclave 2016. Pictured here (from left to right): Deepak Singhal, General Manager of Multipro (Ghana) Ashish Joshi, Prem, Haresh, CEO of Consumer Business (Africa) Pawan Sharma, CEO of Colgate-Tolaram Girish Sharma, and CEO of Dufil Adhi Narto

“We are committed to Africa. We want to create jobs, and add value across the continent” – Sajen

NAVIGATING NEW TERRAIN: TOLARAM’S SUCCESS DRIVERS

RELATIONSHIPS

“We are an industrial company, and our factories are sometimes in rural areas and distant suburbs. Often we engaged with the local Chieftain because we relied on the local communities for everything from labour to security. We had to understand his sphere of influence – who we could employ from his community, and who we could put in significant positions. These connections became friendships, and eventually, longstanding relationships based on trust, respect and commitment.”

– Sajen Aswani, Chief Executive

STAYING RELEVANT

“Africa is a continent of 1.3 billion people. You must be willing to navigate each market and understand the local nuances – the culture, what they like, the pricing, the packaging… we look at everything. We send a team, base them in the market for a year, and then they come back and tell us what needs to be done in terms of strategy.”

VALUES

“Our culture, which permeates every level, down to the factory workers, is that Tolaram will take care of you. If we close a factory, we offer employees work in another one; if someone has a health problem, we do what we can to help them get better; when petrol prices go up, we increase their transport allowance. We take care of our people and they take care of us. This is what keeps us together.”

– Haresh

Aswani

, Managing Director, Africa

– Prem Chiruvolu, CEO, Africa 2002-2014; Board Member

ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET

“The most important factors were an entrepreneurial mindset and adaptability, which are driven by our company values and culture. These have enabled people to be courageous, to experiment in new geographies and implement learnings from their previous roles. We’re committed to all our stakeholders for the long-term, and take pride in building sustainable businesses that will last.”

– Deepak Singhal, Managing Director, Consumer Business; Board Member

HAVING AN IMPACT

“We are part of creating something that is meaningful as well as rewarding for a lot of people. The way I see it, the business generates employment for about 20,000 people which means you have an impact on almost 100,000 people, and that’s always very satisfying.”

STAYING THE COURSE

“Over here in Nigeria, you need a simple strategy and great execution. Some people think they can get things done in just a few months or a year, but turnover and other issues mean longer-term work.”

– Navin Nahata, Managing Director, Fintech & Infrastructure; Board Member

– Adhi Narto, CEO, Dufil

Staff engagement events like the Tolaram Premier League keep team spirit strong. In 2019, the Corporate Falcons took the top spot

THE EARLY DAYS

“I first went to Nigeria in 1981 as an intern and loved it instantly because of the people. They are the most affectionate people I have ever met. I also remember that the warehouse was full of just about anything you could think of – mostly electronics but some sundry goods: sardines, mosquito coils, and so forth. There was just about everything.”

– Sajen

“There was not much entertainment there at the time. You didn’t have cinemas or malls. But we would invite each other over for meals. That’s how we used to keep busy and entertain ourselves.”

– Minu

“When I was in second or third grade, our school went on an excursion to an Indomie factory to see how noodles were made. It was a pretty amazing trip. As a kid, you don’t think about what your dad does or about the business. But I remember leaving that visit feeling pride. This was my family’s work.” – Vivek

“We made friends, and there were always birthdays and weddings to go to. Nigerians are gregarious, sociable and open-minded people. They speak without inhibition. And once they trust you, you could do many things together.” – Haresh

“At that time, people would sell their goods under trees. If you wanted to buy vegetables or meat, you would have to go from tree to tree. Even our passport photos were taken by a man under a tree.” – Kawita

Sajen, then Haresh, laid down roots in Nigeria, which embraced the family in its warmth and hospitality

“During factory openings, I would be the little girl with the flowers, welcoming the Guests-of-Honour. Indomie was a household name, and for a while, my name became Princess Indomie.”

– Anusha

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Chief Joseph Sanusi, with Ishwari during a visit to Singapore in 2003

Anusha welcoming Governor Colonel Rasaki at the opening of the Lucky Fibres factory in 1989

CHAPTER 5

Finding Further Success North

Establishes a trade office in Moscow; begins selling sundry goods to department store chains in the Russian capital

Sonny relocates to Estonia; Tolaram begins acquiring textile and real estate assets in the newlyindependent Baltic state

Acquires Kehra Paber, now renamed Horizon Pulp & Paper

Raj Vaswani joins the HPP team in Estonia

Develops an entertainment and fitness complex in Tallinn

Expands to neighbouring Latvia, Lithuania and former East Germany

Develops Tolaram Keskus, an industrial park

Awarded title of Best Foreign Investor in Estonia

Global recession; production at Horizon brought to a halt; begins diversifying products and markets

Develops a former KGB building into luxury apartment complex Pagari One

Work begins on a mixed development on the site of the former Baltex 2000 factory

Pagari One wins the Baltic Prix d’Excellence

Inaugurates a Combined Heat and Power plant in Kehra; 80% of HPP’s internal energy needs now come from renewable sources

HPP outperforms EU 2020 Climate & Energy Targets

Horizon Pulp & Paper is today the cornerstone of Tolaram’s business in Estonia and of its sustainability efforts. Sonny (right) and Krishnan (left) give Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid a tour of the Kehra factory in 2016

“Eastern Europe was in flux, but that didn’t deter us. What others saw as turmoil, we saw as an opportunity to break into these emerging markets” – Sonny Aswani

On January 4, 1995, Sonny Aswani boarded a flight at Singapore Changi Airport, headed for the other side of the world.

“We had put in a bid for a textile plant in Estonia just before Christmas, and I’d flown back to Singapore for the holidays,” he recalls. “On January 2, I got a phone call saying that our bid had gone through, and that I had to put down a bond and complete the paperwork.”

After 50 years of Soviet rule, the newlyindependent Eastern Bloc was on a drive to privatise its industrial and manufacturing enterprises. The goal was to find what it called “real owners” – investors capable of running productive and sustainable businesses, creating employment and contributing to Estonia’s economic growthxiii

With its winning bid, Tolaram became part of this aspiration. By 1998, it had expanded its presence in the region, adding manufacturing plants in all three Baltic States and the former East Germany to its portfolio. “Eastern Europe was in flux, but that didn’t deter us. What others saw as turmoil, we saw as an opportunity to break into these emerging markets,” says Sonny.

Estonia would eventually become the base, and then the stronghold, of Tolaram’s European ambitions as it transformed from a trading to a manufacturing company,

and broadened its focus beyond textiles to include real estate and paper.

Tolaram would go on to win multiple awards for investment, development and job creation in Estonia. Sonny, himself, would become the first foreigner to be granted honorary Estonian citizenship, and be conferred the Order of the White Star for his contribution to the nation. He would later also be appointed Estonia’s Honorary Consul to Singapore.

Estonia, via India and Russia

Tolaram’s journey to Eastern Europe began in Gandhinagar, a desert town in Gujarat, India, where Sonny struggled to get a video cassette manufacturing business off the ground. By the late 1980s, the VHS industry had exploded, and his job was to carve a slice of this lucrative pie for the company – an

In 2000, Sonny received the Order of the White Star for his contribution to the nation

exercise that proved increasingly frustrating as the rules on the ground clashed with Tolaram’s core values. “No matter how hard I tried, nothing seemed to work out,” he recalls.

With the go-ahead from Singapore, he began exploring other business opportunities. His attention was soon drawn to the robust Indo-Soviet trade, and the potential of the newly-liberalised Russian market. “In those days, the Soviet Union and India had what was known as the rupee-ruble arrangement. The Soviet Union supplied India with military equipment, submarines and steel plants, and India sold them consumer goods like tea, rice, and cosmetics. But India didn’t have much else to offer – that’s where I saw the opportunity.” The Iron Curtain had been lifted for just months when Sonny packed his bags in August 1991 and headed to Moscow “to see if there was anything we could do there”.

His instincts proved spot on: exploring the Russian capital, he found shop after shop with empty shelves, and in the streets, an insatiable appetite for foreign goods. Back in Singapore, he presented the opportunity

to his uncles. “In those days, Mr Mohan was responsible for manufacturing and Mr Vishu was responsible for trading, so Mr Vishu made the call; he saw the opportunity, and I got the go ahead,” says Sonny. “I returned to India, told my family we were moving, then flew to Moscow to set up a company and hire people.”

Within weeks, Tolaram found itself one of the pioneers of the new market-oriented economy, importing a variety of Asian products from kitchenware and audio tapes to instant noodles and canned fruit, which the Russians added to their salads.

In particular, canned pineapples, imported from Thailand and Malaysia, and sold under the Pine Gold brand, turned out to be a fateful choice, not only because it proved enormously successful, but also for the resulting friendship that developed between Sonny and the then Malaysian Ambassador to Russia, Dato’ Mohammed bin Haron. It was over one of their fortnightly dinners of fresh fish at the Ambassador’s residence that Dato’ Haron first suggested that Sonny explore Estonia.

Tolaram forged strong relationships in Estonia and has won multiple industry awards

BUILDING BRAND PREFERENCES

“We decided early on to brand our products. One of the people I worked with, Pratap Nambiar, who was then Marketing Manager, was a big believer in branding. Before joining us in Nigeria, he worked with Kodak in India, and had driven product launches and retail operations. Some products already had brands – Indomie and Kopiko, a coffee candy – but we called our children’s line Strawberry Kids, and for canned pineapples, we used Pine Gold. At that time, it didn’t matter, but we were thinking about the future. By 1993, people didn’t just ask for pineapples in cans, they asked for Pine Gold. That year alone, we brought in up to 60 20-ft containers of canned pineapple. That’s five containers – or some 130,000 cans – a month of just that one product. So, over time, it did matter.” – Sonny

As the Russian market opened further, import volumes increased and port congestion became a real problem. To compound matters, St Petersburg was not an ice-free port. “Temperatures dipped to minus 20 degrees, and for two months a year, you couldn’t bring your goods in,” says Sonny. By that time, Tolaram’s business had also grown substantially. “At first, we were supplying one truck of 10 different items to our customers – over time, our customers had grown so big, they were buying a whole truck of a single item.”

There was an urgent need for an alternative port, but despite Dato’ Haron’s urging, Sonny was unconvinced that Estonia, with its population of 1.38 million – the size of a small Moscow suburb – was the solution. He had begun shipping goods through the Ukrainian port of Odessa, and was exploring ports in Latvia and Lithuania when he finally accepted an invitation to accompany Dato’ Haron to the Estonian capital Tallinn for the Malaysian Independence Day celebrations in 1994.

It turned out that not only was there demand for Tolaram’s goods in the country, Estonia had a free trade zone. “At that time, the final destination for us was still Moscow. So what was important was the infrastructure, accessibility, the bonded warehouse and local import regulations,” says Sonny. “We could import, offload and store goods without having to pay tariffs upfront. In fact, the logistics worked out much better in Estonia than they did in Ukraine.”

The same month saw Mohan and Sajen in London, fresh from the sale of the company’s US assets, and contemplating Tolaram’s next move. From there, opportunity and entrepreneurial daring came together, culminating in a fateful longdistance call in January 1995.

Taking advantage of their presence in Europe, Sonny convinced Mohan and Sajen to fly to Estonia. Since Tolaram was at the time still heavily invested in textiles, Sonny also arranged for them to tour the country’s second largest textile plant in

northern Tallinn. Meanwhile, Estonia itself was pushing aggressively forward with its privatisation programme, and the plant the family was touring was among those up for sale. Impressed by what he saw, and sensing an opportunity to bypass European trade barriers, Mohan proposed that Tolaram make a bid.

“I only wanted him to make a short visit and validate my plan to use Estonia as a logistics base, and there he was, buying factories,” laughs Sonny. But it made sense, he admits.

“At that time, there was a system called the Multi-Fibre Arrangement, a quota system that European countries imposed on Asian

factories. If you wanted to sell to Europe from a factory in Asia, you had to buy the quota, but with a factory in Europe, we could overcome that barrier,” he says. Mohan was also quick to notice other advantages: “We could import cotton from Uzbekistan by train, so the source of raw materials was as good as local; what was also appealing was that electricity prices and labour costs were affordable. It ticked all the boxes,” says Sonny.

“Sometimes I think that if you look into -Mr Mohan’s veins, you won’t see blood. You will see fibres because he knows textiles so well.”

It was not uncommon for temperatures in St Petersburg to dip to minus 20 degrees Celsius during the winter months, causing major congestion in the port (Photo: iStock.com/Grigorev Vladimir)

“NOT

COLD ENOUGH”

“When nothing I tried in India worked out, Mr Vishu advised me to see this astrologer,” says Sonny. “The astrologer took my date, place, and exact time of birth, and went away. He came back 20 minutes later and told me, ‘You need to go to a cold country to find your fortune.’ Two weeks later, I was on a plane to Moscow with two suitcases full of samples.” Some years later, Sonny returned to the astrologer in India, and told him, “You were absolutely right. You said to go to a cold country, so I did – now I’m rocking and rolling in Moscow.”

“Where’s Moscow?” the astrologer asked. Sonny showed him Moscow on a map he had in his car. The astrologer frowned. “It’s not north enough, young man,” he said. “You’re going to have to shift further north.” In 1995, Sonny established what would become one of Tolaram’s key business pillars in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, which, at a latitude of 59 degrees north, is among the five northernmost capitals in the world, and slightly closer to the North Pole than Moscow, which ranks in the top 10xiv. “So I went back to this fortune teller and I said, ‘You know what? You were right again. I went to this country called Estonia and that’s where I’m settling down’. I’ve now been there almost 30 years.”

Establishing a foothold

Landing in Tallinn in January 1995, Sonny set off to complete the paperwork at Estonia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, where he met Urmas Reimand, who would become the company’s first hire. “Estonia was transitioning from a socialist economy to a market economy, and my task was to prepare state companies for privatisation. That is how I first met Sonny and Mr Mohan,” Urmas recalls. When Mohan later suggested that Urmas join Tolaram as its business development manager, he accepted.

It was far north – in Estonia – that Sonny found his place. with his wife Bharti, and their two children, Avinash and Prashanti

The following months saw the acquisition of two more textile plants in the towns of Sindi and Viljandi, a former shoe factory in Tallinn, and a pulp and paper manufacturing plant in the city of Kehra.

“We visited potential acquisition targets, and if we liked what we saw, we brought Mr Mohan in and he decided whether to go ahead with it or not,” recalls Urmas. Tolaram’s credentials meant it was able to attract financing from local banks and international institutions, including the European Bank for Restructuring and

Development (EBRD) and the World Bank, for modernising these factories. “We modernised both our factories in Tallinn and Sindi with the help of these international institutions.”

Then Tolaram began to look beyond Estonia’s borders, acquiring textile assets in Latvia and Lithuania. “They were large factories and very labour intensive – in Lithuania, we had more than 3,500 employees, and in Latvia, we employed more than 2,000 people. With another 2,000 employees in Estonia, at some point, we were the biggest employer in the Baltics,” says Urmas.

URMAS, A TRUSTED LIEUTENANT

“Estonia had just become independent and I probably would have had an interesting job had I stayed with the government, but this was a very dynamic company, and it was looking to acquire businesses in this region. It was an interesting opportunity for me, so I decided to join Tolaram and became involved in acquisitions. This was in 1995. We bought more assets in Estonia, and then we started to acquire textile assets in Latvia and Lithuania. In these countries, we needed to have discussions with the government because the companies were being privatised through government privatisation programmes similar to what we did in Estonia. Since I had experience in privatisation from the government side, I hope I was useful. Over time, my role in Tolaram has evolved.” – Urmas

“Urmas had the local knowledge and understood the local context – who to do business with, the key appointments we needed to make, how we should structure the organisation, what sort of strategy would work. He sat on all the supervisory councils where all key decisions were made. There are usually four to five supervisory council members – me, Sajen, Mr Mohan. In most cases, Urmas was the only one on the council who wasn’t a family member.” – Sonny

“I spent Mondays and Tuesdays in Latvia, Wednesdays and Thursdays in Lithuania, and on Friday, I would be back in Estonia. Travelling was easy in the summer, but in the winter, when it was freezing, it was difficult.” – Sonny

Each of Tolaram’s companies in the Baltics had a supervisory council, mostly made up of family members, which was responsible for appointing a management board. The board was responsible for the day-to-day running of the companies. “We recruited mainly local talent, and that helped us assimilate,” says Sonny.

The investments represented Tolaram’s commitment to the Baltics, as well as a shift in focus from Russia, and from trading to manufacturing. “We felt that traders were going to be squeezed and eliminated over time, and true enough, that’s what happened,” says Sonny.

By 1999, Tolaram was contributing 1% to Estonia’s GDP.

Charting new ground

As the turn of the millennium approached, Tolaram found itself grappling with unexpected challenges.

While the Soviet empire had collapsed, the mentality it cultivated proved stubbornly resilient. “In the past, these factories didn’t have to compete,” says Sajen. “Things like

costing, pricing, quality, these were not issues for them. When we took over these plants, we had to change that mindset.” The plants themselves required massive technological upgrades to be able to compete in the free market, and with the collapse of the USSR, they also had to build a customer base from scratch. All this required significant amounts of capital.

These challenges coincided with a number of unanticipated developments, both within the Baltic states and in the global market.

Rich in raw materials, countries in Asia –primarily China and India – began to quickly develop and dominate the global textile trade. With cheap and plentiful labour, their costs were much lower than in the Baltics,

The official opening of the Qualitex spinning and knitted fabric factory in Sindi in 1999 by then Prime Minister of Estonia, Mart Laar (left), with Sonny and Mohan

where labour costs were now rapidly rising. With the Multi-Fibre Agreement being phased out by the World Trade Organisation, there would soon be nothing stopping Asian exporters from undercutting their European counterparts.

Within the Baltics, meanwhile, the new generation entering the workforce proved reluctant to follow their parents into “old school industries” like textiles.

“It was a labour intensive industry at that time, and there just weren’t enough skilled workers,” says Sonny. “We could see that it wouldn’t be sustainable for very long, so we made a strategic decision to exit textiles,

and to focus on our other investments such as pulp paper and real estate.”

The company’s first real estate development was an entertainment and fitness complex in Rocca Al Mare. Two other developments, Tolaram Keskus and Pagari One, followed.

In 2010, work began on its largest and most valuable plot of land, the 11-hectare site in central Tallinn which previously housed its Baltex 2000 factory. The first phase of the new development – christened Manufactory Quarter – was completed in 2019. When the remaining two phases are completed, it will include close to 700 apartments and loft studios, as well as retail outlets.

When completed, the Manufactory Quarter – the former Baltex 2000 factory – will be an integrated development that includes close to 700 apartments and loft studios

PAGARI ONE

One of the main goals when converting this former KGB building into luxury apartments in 2010 was to preserve its historical personality, says Viktoria Orlova, CFO of Tolaram Investments in Estonia. When 14 original wall paintings were discovered during the demolition process, they were restored to their original condition and retained for future generations. Throughout, “the emphasis has been on quality, and not simply making the most profitable product possible,” she says. In 2013, Pagari One was recognised as “Best Restored Monument” by the Tallinn Cultural Heritage Department. The following year, it clinched the Baltic Prix d´Excellence award from FIABCI-Baltic. Also in 2014, Sonny was presented a medal of honour by the Estonian Society for the Protection of Heritage for “the heritage-sensitive renovation of an architecturally and historically valuable property located at Pagari 1, Tallinn”. Pagari One also houses the KGB Prison Cells Museum.

Focusing on paper

Where its textile businesses failed to meet the company’s expectations, its paper business exceeded them, and would become one of the pillars of Tolaram’s global business.

“When we acquired the plant in 1995, we were not in the pulp and paper industry, but we were marketing paper in Africa, so we understood paper as a business and saw a market for it,” Sonny says. Covering just over

half its land area, Estonia’s forests offered easy and ample access to raw materials. Combined with reliable infrastructure and access to the large EU market, Tolaram was optimistic about the potential of the now renamed Horizon Pulp & Paper.

As with textiles, the first years proved challenging as Tolaram grappled with both anticipated and unanticipated challenges. “The paper factory hadn’t run for two years, and it took a large investment to restart it. Then, by sheer coincidence, pulp and paper prices

dropped by 50%,” Urmas recalls. It also quickly became obvious that the former Soviet facility was not equipped to produce the quality needed to compete in the global market.

“In the beginning our products were regularly rejected by customers,” recalls Raj, who was assigned to the Horizon sales and marketing team in 1995. “We knew that if we wanted to sell to developed markets, we had to drastically improve the quality of our products, and for that, we had to change the mindset of the production team.” There was also work to be done to win over customers and their trust. “That was the biggest satisfaction,” he says. “It wasn’t the most glamorous of jobs but it gave me hands-on work experience and helped me

very quickly understand the challenges of running a business.”

The team at Horizon worked tirelessly to upgrade the plant, and eventually managed to break into the UK, as well as the Dutch, German, Italian and French markets. “We modernised it, made it compliant with European environmental regulations, and made it a profitable company selling not just paper, but full packaging solutions,” says Urmas.

This lasted until 2008, when the collapse of the housing bubble in the US sent the global economy into a freefall, bringing production at Horizon to a halt.

Zanna Botvinkina (seated, left), who ran Horizon before it was privatised, stayed on as the mill’s Director. Pictured here with (clockwise) CFO Snehangshu, Raj Vaswani, Head of Production Indrek Taal, and Sonny

“I remember my first day going to the office at the paper mill. As we approached the mill, there was this strange odour which could be smelt from the car. I asked a colleague what that smell was and he was beaming with pride, ‘That’s the smell of pulp!’ The mill had been shut for several years, and the smell of pulp meant that the factory was running again” - Raj

Tolaram breathed new life into Horizon, modernising the plant and its operations. Then President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, officiated the plant’s opening in 1998

Larissa Cojocaru, Head of Utilities, Horizon Pulp & Paper

Larissa, 63, started working at the mill in April 1983, when it was still known as Kehra Paber, and Estonia was still a part of the USSR. A fresh graduate from the Kiev Polytechnic Institute in Ukraine and a Thermal Energy Engineer by training, she was enticed north to Estonia by the promise of a flat for her and her family, “otherwise we would have had to join the queue like most Soviet people,” she explains. “When I first arrived, it was snowing heavily and the mill looked old. I did not have a good first impression.” Nevertheless she stayed until the USSR collapsed in 1991. Four years later, when the mill was acquired by Tolaram, mill manager Zanna Botvinkina invited her and her husband to rejoin the production team at the newly christened Horizon Pulp & Paper. “I joined because I was expecting interesting challenges, projects, and career opportunities,” she says. “And that’s what I got.” In her 27 years with Horizon, she has witnessed the mill’s modernisation and transformation, particularly in the energy department, which she heads. The type of fuel used shifted from black oil to natural gas in 1995-2000, and then from natural gas to wood chips, which emit fewer greenhouse gases. “The mill is now much more friendly to the environment,” she says.

It was one of the world’s most modern mills when it was built in 1938, but Kehra Paber saw mixed fortunes and was declared bankrupt in 1992. The entry of Tolaram in 1995 put it on a steadier path – not just towards profitability, but also sustainability. In 2016, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid was invited to visit Horizon soon after she took office

BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO KEHRA PABER

Horizon Pulp & Paper began life as Kehra Paberivabrik in 1938. Inaugurated by then President Konstantin Päts, it was the largest company established in Estonia during the interwar years, employing 464 people, and among the most modern mills in the world. In the early years of WWII, its chimney was damaged by the red army, bringing operations to a halt in 1941. It was then rebuilt by the inmates of a German POW camp in 1942, resuming production the following year. Fortunately, Nazi plans to destroy the mill as they fled the town in September 1944 failed, and a decade later, the mill was back to its pre-war production levels. By 1988, it had 1,065 workers, and was the main source of employment for the town. This recovery, however, was short-lived: breakage in the recovery

“It was late autumn when I first visited the paper mill with Sonny. It was in terrible condition – it was raining so the roof was leaking, and everything was rusty and really frightening. The factory had been abandoned for almost two years, and I was thinking, these guys must be very brave to consider buying it.” – Urmas

boiler in 1992 saw production grind to a halt, and the mill was declared bankrupt. It was not until 1995, when Tolaram acquired the mill, that production resumed and livelihoods were restored. Today, the city of Kehra is best known for its pulp and paper mill, which is the main source of employment for the town’s 2,600 residents, and among the largest businesses in the country.

Packaging line at the Kehra Pulp and Paper Integrated Mill, 1971

“Most important are the people who work with us. People are the success of Tolaram” – Sonny

Tackling turmoil with trust

The Great Recession of 2008 – the most severe global financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929 – would leave few unscathed as it swept the world, obliterating millions of jobs and billions of dollars in incomexv. In Estonia, Horizon was not spared. “Most of our packaging paper was used for making cement sacks, which we supplied around Europe for construction use. But suddenly nobody needed cement or paper,” says Urmas. “Our pulp and paper mill usually operated 24/7, 365 days a year. It never stopped. But that year, we had to stop production twice in one winter.”

To keep the business running and avoid a complete shutdown, Urmas did two things: first, he asked Singapore for a capital injection – a large demand as Tolaram’s resources were still stretched – and he asked his staff to take a pay cut. “Our cash flow was so bad we couldn’t pay everyone their salaries, so we asked our employees to consider taking a 20% pay cut for a year to help the company get through this difficult time.”

Ashwani Sharma, CEO of Horizon at the time, and Vishal Tulsian, then CFO, were tasked with breaking the news to hundreds of line workers. “We had to reduce their salaries, and knew full well that for the labourers, the pay cut was going to impact their lives seriously. The downturn was worldwide, but the effects were being felt right there,

at home,” says Vishal. “But there was no other way. We explained the situation and told them that it was the only way we could keep going.”

“The day salaries were reduced, the entire management stayed at the office throughout the night, in a room with the door open. Anyone who needed to vent could come and talk to us. They were unionised, and they could revolt. To our surprise, not one of the 550 employees came to complain.” – Vishal

Behind the scenes, Sonny and Urmas approached Horizon’s suppliers and banks – by this time, the company was in debt but it needed supplies, energy and funds if it was to have any hope of getting back on its feet. “I drew up a schedule where we would pay them back in instalments over a two-year period,” Sonny recalls. “I asked them to trust us.”

Meanwhile, the managers worked to find new markets for Horizon’s products. With the European construction industry suffering, they turned to Tolaram’s Asian network. “Some of our competitors in Scandinavia had to shut down permanently, but because

of our roots and presence in Asia, we were able to quickly switch to our Asian markets where demand at this time was still present. This helped us to resume production earlier than our competitors, and emerge from this crisis stronger,” says Urmas.

Within a year, the loans extended had been repaid. At the end of the year, worker salaries were also restored, and a few months later,

raised, because “it has to work both ways,” says Urmas. “We asked them to take a 20% pay cut, and they did it without complaint. It was now our turn to do something.”

Looking back, Urmas reflects that the company was not saved during the months when it dealt with the fallout from the global crisis, but years earlier, during a strategy meeting with Tolaram’s Board.

“Everyone, even the banks, saw that our intentions were real, and that we were staying in the country no matter what – we would never abandon them. That worked in our favour, and we are still there in Estonia and doing well” – Sonny

Horizon, a large regional employer, often hosted dignitaries, including Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip (second from right), who visited in 2010. Pictured here with (from left): Urmas, Aime Kersti Manager of HR and Admin, then CEO Ashwani Sharma and Sonny

“We talked a lot about trust. Why? Because we knew how important it was for every member of the organisation to trust each other,” he says. When crisis struck, trust guided how each member of the team responded – from the shareholders and management, to those on the ground: Tolaram’s trust that Urmas would turn the factory around; its suppliers’ trust that debts would be repaid; and the employees’ trust that their livelihoods would be protected. “Even during the crisis, we had very little staff turnover,” says Urmas.

On the Horizon

Today, Horizon Pulp & Paper’s products are exported to more than 70 countries, and in its portfolio are a number of speciality and value-added products that are relatively resilient to business volatilities.

“What we learnt was to diversify our product portfolio and be present in multiple geographies,” says Bashyam Krishnan, who has helmed Horizon since 2013. “It’s been a continuous evolution since 2008.”

“What is also very important for me is that in our organisation, so many cultures and nationalities meet. In our pulp and paper mill alone, we have over 10 nationalities. That diversity often helps you see things from new perspectives, and you learn so much” – Urmas

Another lesson learnt was that “when you run your business based on trust, the people working for you also feel and act like a cohesive unit,” says Krishnan. “Out here, our people are our core strength. There’s a fierce loyalty in the team, and their willingness to go the extra mile is a strength of the company. Indeed, I have multiple generations of people working here – parents, children and even grandchildren.”

PAPER: FINDING NEW NICHES

Elena Cojocaru, Financial Analyst, Horizon Pulp & Paper

The Horizon finance team (from left to right): Accountants Jelena Gorb and Luule Loit, Financial Analyst Elena Cojocaru, and Chief Accountant Aleksandra Lõsjakova

“By the time I joined Horizon in 2007, I had learned a lot about the company. Both my parents were long-time employees, and my final Bachelor’s thesis was related to Horizon and the pulp and paper industry. But on my first day at work, I was still amazed by the atmosphere in the accounting department. These were longterm employees, I was the youngest, but they were very friendly and responded to all my questions and requests. It was also very diverse in terms of languages, cultures and nationalities. Over time, some things have changed, but the work is still interesting and challenging, and I still have friendly and cooperative colleagues.”

“In a nutshell, what we’ve done since 2008 is reduce our exposure to construction and add new portfolios and speciality packaging. Today, our exposure to cement and construction is just over 30%. We do food packaging, and we’ve also diversified into niche products like protective packaging for products being transported. We are the leading manufacturer of this type of paper in Europe today. We’ve also created anti-corrosive paper for packaging motor spare parts, paper for electric insulation, and moisture-resistant paper that retains its strength even when wet. On markets, we’ve realised that we’re a small producer and need to have a presence across geographies, so if there are issues in one geography, we can ramp up sales in other geographies. This helped us tremendously during the Covid-19 pandemic. When Covid hit Asia, we reduced our exposure in Asia and enhanced it in other geographies; then we saw that Europe was going to be hit, so we moved to Latin America, which hadn’t been hit yet. By the time Latin America got hit, we had moved back to Europe. So diversifying geographically was enormously helpful. Even during the pandemic, we were able to operate at 75%-80% capacity.”

– Krishnan

“I’ve worked in Thailand, Egypt, Spain, Greece and India, but the Estonians are the warmest people I’ve come across. They’re straighttalking and get right to the point. It’s helped me run things smoothly and change what was needed” – Krishnan

A major priority moving forward is to create sustainable food packaging solutions and other green products that will contribute to environmental efforts around the world, says Krishnan.

In 2018, Horizon Pulp & Paper was awarded an AAA credit rating – “Strongest in Estonia” by internationally-recognised credit assessment company Creditinfo Eesti AS. The award recognised its contribution to the development of the Estonian economy, and to fair business culture. The company would win the award again in 2022.

Also in 2018, Tolaram inaugurated a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant at the mill in Kehra – its first foray into the circular economy. With the contribution of CHP, 80% of Horizon’s internal energy requirements now come from renewable sources and waste products from its own operations.

Krishnan credits Tolaram’s success to its resilience and adaptability. “You have to innovate constantly to stay competitive and relevant. We’ve institutionalised the need to learn, unlearn and relearn; we’re always evolving and looking forward to learning new things.”

“Everyone, including the Chairman, was there to celebrate the plant’s opening – it reminded us that we were working towards a common goal. It was an incredible feeling.” – Krishnan

In 1997, Sonny facilitated a visit by Estonian Prime Minister Tiit Vähi (centre) to Singapore’s Tanjong Pagar wharves

In recognition of his contribution to the Estonian economy, and for his role in fostering close ties between Estonia and Singapore, Sonny was appointed Honorary Consul of the Republic of Estonia to the Republic of Singapore by the Government of Estonia in 2008

A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO ESTONIA

In its first five years after independence, Estonia privatised more than 90% of its industrial and manufacturing enterprises. The goal was to get the economy back on its feet, and to do this, it needed to find what it called “real owners”, those that were willing to make real investments and provide employment for the nation’s 1.3 million residents. Submitted bids were evaluated based on their ability to do this, and winning bidders formalised their commitments in their contracts.

“We saw an opportunity to pick up some of the businesses. That’s how we started. Because we were in textiles then, we first looked for textile factories,” says Mohan. This later grew to include real estate and paper manufacturing. Tolaram invested heavily in the assets it acquired, modernising ageing factories and creating jobs. In the first two years alone, it put over €20 million into modernising its textile operations. Baltic Textile Factory (AS Balti Manufaktuur) was automated and renamed Baltex 2000 to reflect Tolaram’s ambition

to obtain ISO certification by the turn of the millennium. In line with the shift of focus to real estate, this facility is currently being redeveloped into a mixed-used complex, comprising residential and commercial units. Similarly, Tolaram upgraded a bankrupt textile factory in Sindi (AS Sindi Tekstilivabrik) in 1996, restoring textile production to the area. It remains the building’s landlord.

However, it is for its 1995 acquisition and restoration of the paper mill in Kehra that the company is best known. Renamed Horizon Pulp & Paper, it currently provides employment to 528 people from the surrounding town. Some €140 million has since gone into modernising the mill and its sustainability commitments.

“We’ve made a long-term commitment to Estonia and its economy, and to the many who have become part of the Tolaram family,” says Mohan. “We are here to stay.”

ESTONIA: ADAPTING TO A NEW WORLD

“I had to learn how to walk on ice. In my first year, I fell flat on my face, it was that slippery. The Estonians, they skate with their shoes on, but I wasn’t used to it. I had to be careful not to break any bones!” – Krishnan

“My wife and I are passionate skiers, and we convinced Sonny to try skiing. It’s been 10 years, and every year we go to the same place. Now he’s starting to enjoy it. The first nine years were just torture.” – Urmas

“I have been in Estonia for over 30 years, and in that time, I have never signed a single cheque, everything has been digital. The first time I voted in the elections, I voted using my mobile phone.” – Sonny

“My first day in Tallinn, I woke up without an alarm. Light was streaming into my hotel room, and in an upbeat mood, I got ready for my first day at the office. Just before leaving, I checked the time. To my utter disbelief it was still 4am! So that’s how I spent my first day in Tallinn – sitting in my hotel room, fully suited up and ready for work at 4am.” – Vishal

Sonny and Urmas in the French Alps, where they head annually

THE TOLARAM ESTONIA FAMILY

“I’ve always felt like a member of the bigger Tolaram family. I think you see the same feeling throughout the business. If you look at our companies here, we have relatively low staff rotation. Many of our employees, including myself, have been with the company for more than 20 years. Particularly for Europe, this is quite uncommon.”

“I started in 2005 as an accountant with the Status Club in Rocca Al Mare, and since then, I’ve gained great experience in real estate. One of the highlights of my career was our Pagari One residential project. I am sincerely proud that I was able to participate in a project that changed the cityscape of my hometown, and in many aspects, was ahead of its time. It became a true benchmark for later developments.”

“Working with Tolaram for the last 20 years has been a blessing. You truly feel that it’s a family company and that you are a part of it. The positive feeling and support I get motivates me and influences how I approach my daily work. It inspires me to achieve more and to be better. It’s not just work, it’s also an important part of my life.”

– Urmas Reimand, Head of Baltic Operations, Estonia

– Viktoria Orlova, CFO of Tolaram Investments in Estonia

– Tarvo Teder, CEO of Tolaram Investments in Estonia

“Failures are handled in a manner that encourages perseverance rather than disappointment. Our failures aren’t from a lack of effort, they’re simply ideas that did not work. It makes us more courageous, not less – and we indeed feel like part of a family. It’s just like home.”

– Vishal Tulsian, former Horizon CFO, currently President Director of Amar Bank in Indonesia

Zanna Botvinkina, who led Horizon before it was privatised and fought to keep the mill going when it was abandoned in 1992, stayed on as the mill’s director when it was acquired by Tolaram in 1995. She became very close to Sonny and Mohan. When she passed away in 2015, a monument was created for her in a park the company built in front of its head office in Kehra. It is dedicated to all Horizon employees

PADMA DEVI FOUNDATION

Tolaram incorporated its first philanthropic entity in Estonia in May 1998, with a small hospice for those with end-stage cancer as its first beneficiary. “I had a dear friend, a former British fighter pilot, who was in that hospice,” recalls Sonny. “He was an avid sailor, so one Sunday, I put him in a wheelchair, took him on a sailboat, and we spent four hours sailing. The following Tuesday, he passed away.” Some time later, Sonny returned to the hospice and asked if there was anything he could do for the residents. They told him that he could do one of two things: fix the windows or donate adult diapers. Because the windows were damaged, it got too cold at night for the elderly to get out of bed to use the toilet. He ended up doing both. “As a result of that, we established our own foundation.”

Since then, the Padma Devi Foundation –which is now privately driven by Sonny and named for his mother – has continued its community giving, focusing on two core areas: education and the welfare of the less fortunate. Among other things, it sponsors music education for children with special needs and supports the work of the Mother Theresa Home in Tallinn. This includes converting a large garage on the company’s premises into a multifunctional hall which now serves as a “soup kitchen” twice a week, providing warm meals for up to 100 people. Together with the sisters of Mother Theresa Home, the Foundation also organises a summer camp for children from vulnerable families, and supports a rehabilitation camp for adults.

From music lessons to summer camps, the Padma Devi Foundation has made education and bettering the lives of the less fortunate its focus

Avinash Aswani, New Business Development Manager

Avinash, who grew up in Estonia, joined the business in Singapore in 2016. He spent a year and a half learning about the business before becoming the first recipient of a Tolaram initiative that funds innovative business ideas by family members. His interest in health and fitness translated into LVL, which offered drink mixes containing superfoods such as moringa, matcha, and ashwagandha.

“My cousin Rohit joined me a few months in, and we grew the idea together. It was an area we were both particularly excited about and we got some good traction.”

In 2020, he brought his experience to Tolaram’s Singapore operations, which was looking to invest in the sustainable food space. “Having run a business in this space gave me a good understanding of the key trends,” he says. Wanting to be closer to the source of food products, Avinash moved to Nigeria in 2022 as a New Business Development Manager to promote sustainable sourcing of raw materials and identify new – and sustainable – food categories that Tolaram could get involved in.

“Nigeria is set to become the third most populated country in the world by 2050. Protein demands are steadily increasing, and the cost of meat and milk is also on the rise. We have to find a way for them to feed themselves.” While he admits that it is not easy to hit all three necessary targets: tasty, affordable, and mass-produced, it is one of his missions.

“Being able to contribute to the company and grow the business my forefathers started while working in a space I am passionate about – it gives me a sense of purpose.”

CHAPTER 6

Recovery

and Rebuilding

Sajen returns to Singapore as CEO

Tolaram restructures; exits textiles and begins seeding new businesses

Expands consumer business in Nigeria

Narrows focus in East Europe to Estonia

Headquarters moves to 1A International Business Park in Singapore, developed by Tolaram

Anusha Aswani is the first of the 4th generation to join the business in Singapore

Tolaram Foundation is established

Enters fintech sector; acquires Amar Bank in Indonesia

Rohit Nanwani joins the business

In 2010, Tolaram moved its head office to the International Business Park. The company designed and built the space, and is now its anchor tenant, occupying the top two floors. Because of Mohan’s love for nature, some 336 sq m of the top floor is occupied by an orchid garden. Photo: Lip Kee

“There is nothing more insightful than a near-death experience – when you have one, you are forced to take stock. That’s what happened with us. We took a critical look at our business and reframed our strategy” – Sajen Aswani

As Tolaram raced across the globe, internal and external conditions converged to create the perfect storm.

“We had made a huge windfall in the US from turning distressed assets around and selling them. This encouraged us, and we attempted to do it again in other geographies,” says Sajen. Using the proceeds from the US asset sale, Tolaram expanded rapidly, adding more than 20 businesses across Europe, Asia, and Africa to its portfolio between 1995 and 2000 – “but we underestimated the human and financial resources that it would take to pull it off.”

Many of the newly-acquired businesses were also textile related – a core competency of the business, but one that was now vulnerable to competition from India and China.

“We had arrived at an inflection point,” says Sajen. “We had embarked on a strategy that was unsustainable, and now needed to take a critical look at our business, at what went wrong, and create a new direction for the business.”

“It took us five years to restructure our portfolio. And then from 2005 to 2020, we rebuilt.”

Through crisis, a renewed focus

The first challenge was to ascertain cash flow – “what our obligations were, when they were due, to whom, and what the inflows were,” says Sajen, who was appointed Chief Executive in 2000. “By the time we figured that out, one of our creditors wound us up.”

Within weeks, the creditors had consolidated and begun unified action against the parent company. In May 2001, a wind-up petition was served on the company, followed quickly by a courtordered liquidation.

“It sounds very dramatic but it wasn’t, in the sense that you knew what had to happen,” says Sajen. “We needed to find a way to generate cash to pay our creditors. There were actually far more assets than debts, but those assets needed to be realised over time to prevent any loss in their value, and we had to convince our creditors to give us that time.”

With the aftershocks of the Asian Financial Crisis still reverberating through the region, not everyone was ready to listen. “We spent a lot of time engaging with them individually and in person – we had creditors in South

Africa, Europe, China, Thailand, Indonesia, and the US. Then there were also partners who wanted to exit because they thought the ship was sinking, and stakeholders, suppliers and employees that we had to manage.”

“We called it a War Cabinet and Sajen was on the front line. Some banks were more aggressive, some less, but we paid them one by one. What really stood out was the resilience and perseverance through hardship. There was no finger-pointing or blame. We rallied together.” – Ang

The most significant – and far reaching –outcome of the restructuring process that followed was that it forced Tolaram to take a critical look at its assets, and make datadriven decisions on which it was willing to sell to settle its debts, and which it would fight tooth and nail to keep.

While textiles had been at the core of the family business for generations, and the foundation of its early rise, it had become clear that the company lacked the competitive advantage in textiles that it had in its newer businesses. “We didn’t have the end-to-end value chains that the Chinese and Indian companies had, especially in man-made fibres. We had bits, but never the whole value chain,” says Sajen.

STRONGER TOGETHER

“When there are difficulties, you acknowledge that you share a common burden, and you work through it together. Throughout the crisis, the loyalty of the staff remained, we had no resignations.” – Ang

“Within the company, there was huge solidarity. The Chairman remained optimistic – there was not a bone in his body that said we would not succeed. He genuinely believed that things would work out. That was very reassuring, and everyone rallied.” – Sajen

Pictured here (from left to right): Sonny, Mohan, Sajen and Ang

Textiles was also a low margin business, giving countries with low labour and raw material costs a substantial advantage.

“In the beginning, the operational costs were relatively low, but once the countries started to develop, labour costs started to grow rapidly, and so did other costs like electricity. And while the factories we acquired were huge, they were also old, and the financial resources needed to modernise them were tremendous.” – Urmas

repay them,” says Sajen. “Every creditor in every country knew that the parent company was illiquid, and many thought it was not salvageable. But we were quite sure we would come through because the extent of the problem was not as severe as they perceived from their vantage point.”

Playing to its competitive advantage

As Tolaram divested its unprofitable and non-core businesses, it consolidated its hold on the businesses and industries in which it had a competitive advantage, and believed it had a future in.

In Africa, this was in consumer goods.

With the textile operations in the Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania, where its largest textile plant was located, there were additional cultural barriers. Even after independence from the USSR, there was strong Russian influence, Mohan remembers. “You could drive from Estonia to Lithuania in a few hours, but there was a big cultural gap.”

In the five years between 2000 and 2005, Tolaram divested many of its textile businesses, along with other non-core and unprofitable businesses, using those proceeds and the critical cash flow yielded from its ongoing operations to meet its obligations.

“That was our job, maximising cash flow and figuring out how to convince each creditor to give us the time we needed to

“If you have good country knowledge, good logistics, and good distribution, the list of things you can do is endless. Nigeria is a country of 200 million people and still at a very low base.” – Ang

In Nigeria, where the consumer business had turned the corner, strategies were put in place for further growth. In July 2003, Tolaram opened a second instant noodle factory in Port Harcourt and extended the reach of its distribution arm, Multipro, to build on the momentum it had created for the business in the country. Two years later, the strength of the Indomie brand forced its main competitor out of the market. Tolaram bought over their noodle machines and expanded further.

“Then we asked ourselves what else we could do with the network, the abilities, the knowledge, and the experience that we had gathered,” says Haresh. “We looked at the spaces that weren’t so crowded, and where the competition would not drive down margins.” This led to the addition of cooking oil, pasta, and snack foods to Tolaram’s portfolio.

Tolaram also explored non-food categories, leading to its entry into the bleach market. There, too, it played to its strength, targeting the bottom of the pyramid with single-serve sachets which were Affordable, Acceptable and widely Available, in line with its 3 As strategy.

From bleach to convenience foods, Tolaram focuses on making products Affordable, Acceptable and Available to African consumers

Tolaram’s largest –and most valuable – plot in central Tallinn, where Baltex 2000 once stood, is being redeveloped into a mixed-use development

In the Baltics, the rapid acquisition of government assets slowed as Tolaram became more selective. By 2005, it had narrowed its focus to Estonia, and concentrated its resources on the paper and real estate sectors.

into a residential complex called Manufactory Quarter, with apartments and a supermarket,” says Urmas. The first phase of the development was completed in 2019, and all 269 apartments sold. The second phase with 550 apartments and 6,000 square metres of commercial space began in 2021, and a third phase, which will include the development of the main building, is on the drawing board.

“We wanted to focus on fewer countries, but to be bigger in those countries.” – Mohan

“One of the textile factories we closed in 2006 was located in downtown Tallinn. It was a valuable property so we decided to develop it

“We went from a shotgun approach to a laser beam approach,” explains Sajen. “When we started in Africa, we went everywhere and started trading. Over time we narrowed our focus to Nigeria, and from there, we chose to concentrate on consumer goods. The same thing happened in Eastern Europe, where we initially went on an acquisition binge. We were in many different countries and businesses.

The ones that were likely to succeed in the long-term, we focused on.”

Modernising the business model

Across Tolaram’s remaining businesses, senior hires were empowered to position the business for growth. Strategies to strengthen governance and guide better decision-making were put into place, with technological investments adding efficiency to processes.

“When we first started, there wasn’t a lot of data available. Mr Mohan and Mr Vishu had a lot of experience, and that helped us make decisions and grow rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s. But now we had access to data, so we invested in research and

Many things have to happen in a particular way or direction to enable certain outcomes – what I call confluence. You do your best with the things within your control and the rest is beyond you. That’s our philosophy. It supports risktaking and allows you to keep moving forward even when things don’t work out” – Sajen

understanding that data. That allowed our decision-making process to be more informed, so we were now able to make better decisions,” says Haresh.

Throughout the divestment and consolidation, on the ground, it was business as usual. While the management was kept abreast of what was going on at the macro level, their focus was on dayto-day operations – growing the business, charting strategies, managing finances, and employing and training staff.

“Those things continued, they didn’t stop. In that sense, there was a semblance of normalcy,” says Sajen. “The duality was helpful because you saw that the businesses were still running and doing well.”

By 2006, Tolaram’s businesses were rationalised, its processes professionalised and modernised, and hard data drove the decision-making process.

Diversification for growth

While the streamlining of Tolaram’s global businesses focused its strengths, it also exposed a potential vulnerability.

A risk assessment in 2009 identified an over-concentration of the family’s wealth in Nigeria. “We needed to mitigate this vulnerability, so we looked at how we could monetise some of the assets in Nigeria and diversify,” says Manish Tibrewal. This eventually led to partnership agreements with Danish dairy company Arla and US multinational Kellogg in 2015, and the expansion of the partnerships to Egypt, Ghana and South Africa.

Infrastructure was another crucial part of this diversification. In 2019, construction began on the 850-hectare Lagos Free Zone (LFZ), a special economic zone which integrates Nigeria’s first deep sea port. When complete, the LFZ will be home to more than 150 factories and 35,000 personnel.

At the same time, Tolaram began looking for opportunities in other markets and sectors.

“By then we had decided that we needed to think about digital businesses,” says Sajen. The opportunity to invest in fintech came serendipitously. Mohan, who had acquired a bank in Indonesia with some friends years earlier, was looking to divest it. At the same time, Estonia was becoming known for its breakthrough financial technologies.

“It’s about connecting the dots. The opportunity came because there was this bank, and with the bank as a platform, we would be able to ease into financial technology. Without a bank, it would have been more difficult. By then, Estonia had cutting edge technologies in the digital sphere. We had relationships in Estonia, so we tapped into those relationships,” says Sajen.

In 2014, Tolaram acquired PT Amar Bank Indonesia, the country’s first pure-play digital bank. This represented the first

A strategic partnership was struck with cereal and snack food giant Kellogg in 2015

step in what would be a complete shift to forward-looking ventures in the former stronghold of its textile business. With Amar Bank as its platform, Tolaram would go on to launch Tunaiku, Indonesia’s first microloan platform. Tunaiku provides unsecured personal loans, leveraging big data and predictive analytics to determine creditworthiness. The company would follow this up with the 2020 launch of Indonesia’s first cloud-based savings app, Senyumku, in partnership with Google. Senyumku uses AI and data analytics to help its clients maintain financial wellness. By 2021, Amar Bank would grow to 1,100 employees from 17 in 2014.

“We had first-mover advantage,” says Sajen. “We were able to roll it out quickly enough to make it a significant business for us.”

“The use of fintech in microcredit is a powerful way to help people with little or no access to conventional loan systems. Microcredit allows borrowers to prove their creditworthiness in increments, without exorbitant finance rates. In providing a well-managed, fair channel to the people of Indonesia, Amar Bank has found a need, and is filling it ethically and respectfully, revolutionising the banking experience, (and) educating people to improve their financial awareness, security and saving habits through state-of-the-art technology”

– Shanggari B, CEO of MORS Groupxvi

Seeking out new opportunities

“At that time, most of our revenue was still coming out of Africa, so I was given the mandate to find a new market we could grow in, and a business that we could grow in that market,” recalls Vishal Tulsian, now President Director of Amar Bank. “I shortlisted six countries, and we decided that Indonesia best fit the bill – its population was growing, politically and economically it was stable, communications were good, and given Tolaram’s past connections, we also had a network in the country. That was in March 2013. In May 2013, I met with Mr Sajen and we talked about the potential of online lending, big data analytics and predictive analytics, and I got the funding approval to conduct more studies on the potential of fintech in Indonesia. That’s how I moved to Indonesia in August 2013. By December of that year we had finalised our plans, and in January 2014, we launched the project.”

Vishal Tulsian

“Markets like Indonesia have a large underbanked and underserved demographic. In many of these countries, people do not have bank accounts, or large institutionalised banks do not see them as clients. We do.”

In 2022, Tolaram would take its fintech offerings in Indonesia a step further, launching Insureka!, an AI-based motor insurance platform.

Putting new systems in place

In 2014, the senior leadership held a strategy meeting in Estonia with a number of goals on its agenda: to consolidate its business verticals, create strategies for future growth, and crystallise its core values for future generations.

“It was a great opportunity for us to look at Horizon Pulp & Paper and each of the value drivers so we could grow the business and improve profitability,” says Bashyam Krishnan, who had taken over as CEO and Chairman of Horizon’s Board six months earlier.

One of the outcomes of the strategy meeting was to make sustainability a core focus of the business. “We tightened our sustainability credentials further, starting from where and how we source our raw materials, up to the finished goods,” says Krishnan. “For example, we now use pulpwood from sustainable, renewable forests to make our paper.” The business has also been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) that

Tolaram’s fintech offerings in Indonesia, including Tunaiku, Senyumku and Insureka!, drive towards financial inclusion

affirms the timber it uses comes from responsibly managed forests. Some years later, it would build a Combined Heat & Power plant. When ready, more than 80% of Horizon’s power requirements in Estonia would come from renewable sources, reducing the mill’s carbon footprint by approximately 70%.

“The game is changing, and sustainability and climate change are realities today. Having realised this early on and worked on our sustainability credentials, we are now well positioned to move forward,” says Krishnan.

“We’ve constantly reinvented ourselves. That’s how we got to 75 years” – Sajen

Horizon marked its 75th anniversary in 2013 with a two-day celebration, which included a parade, concerts and visits by dignitaries

Structuring for the future

By 2015, Tolaram had evolved significantly from what it was at the turn of the millennium.

“What has stayed the same is the value system. But the kind of industries we are in has changed,” says Sajen. “We only have one textile company left in the business from a peak of 24.”

Meanwhile, the pool of family members, too, had grown considerably from the five that put down their roots in Malang in 1948. As the fourth generation graduated and began entering the family business, a new challenge emerged: to put into place a governance structure that would meet the business’ evolving needs.

At the time, Tolaram was structured as a simple shareholding, with seven primary shareholders, says Ang. However, this was not seen as sustainable in the long-term from a succession planning and decision-making point of view.

“The family wanted to restructure the business in a way that would allow it to last for generations. That was the broad mandate we were given,” he says. “A colleague and I attended a programme on governance and succession to learn how to split the governance of the family and business so one did not impact the other, while also strengthening how the business would be run.”

This eventually culminated in the restructuring of Tolaram in 2015.

Sonny (left) with Prime Minister Andrus Ansip during his 2010 visit to Horizon

Rohit joined Tolaram in Singapore in 2014, as the company was seeking fresh opportunities for growth. As a business development executive, he spent his time supporting Tolaram’s expansion in Africa and Indonesia, under the mentorship of his uncle and Chief Executive, Sajen. “Mr Sajen has taught me a lot about business and life. A quote he always used was this: ‘When things get hard, don’t ask for them to be easier, learn how to get better, then nothing will be difficult anymore’. As a member of the extended family, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of experiences that most would envy: I have sold noodles in the market, negotiated deals with MNCs and travelled to parts of the world most could only dream of.” Among the first projects Rohit participated in

NEW BEGINNINGS

As well as sweeping views of Singapore, Tolaram designed and built its new corporate headquarters with spaces that would encourage camaraderie, a sense of community – and a bit of friendly competition. “There is a leisure room where we used to spend lunchtimes playing pool and having foosball tournaments,” recalls Anusha, who joined Tolaram in 2010, the same year the business moved to its current premises on the top two floors of

1A International Business Park. “It was a lot of fun, and really brought us together,” she says. The building was also designed with sustainability in mind, with a rooftop orchid garden, landscaped green areas, and water features. In 2009, it received the Green Mark Gold Award from Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority, recognising its greening efforts, including using environmentally friendly and energy-saving materials and equipment.

was hammering out the joint-venture agreement with Kellogg in Africa. “There were many hard days and nights of constant negotiation, going back and forth,” he recalled. “I witnessed first-hand how our employees and family alike were dedicated to seeing the deal through. With both partners and employees, we have been blessed to be surrounded by great people.”

Rohit continued to do business development for Tolaram until 2017, when he went on to co-found superfood company LVL Life with Avinash. He passed away in July 2022 and is remembered for his zest for life, passion for health and wellness, as well as his kindness and warmth.

Rohit Nanwani

The reorganisation of Tolaram in 2015 marked a quantum leap in how it would be governed, and changed the responsibilities of family members within the new structure

CHAPTER 7

Future the Securing

Tolaram restructures as a trust; Family Constitution is created

Tolaram Family Office is established to focus on responsible investment

Avinash Aswani joins the business in Singapore

Ishk Tolaram Foundation is established

Sumitra Aswani joins Ishk Tolaram Foundation in Singapore

Sandhya Aswani joins Ishk Tolaram Foundation in Singapore

First Family Assembly takes place; it is instated as an annual event

Vivek Aswani joins the business in Nigeria

Tolaram’s asset management arm Maitri receives “B Corp” certification

“We reorganised, and created a Trust, a Foundation, and a Family Office under a new constitution. We took a quantum leap in how we governed our businesses” – Sajen Aswani

On December 30, 2015, Tolaram’s shareholders and senior team members went into a two-day lockdown with its advisors at the Capella hotel in Singapore. The intention: to hammer out the details of a governance structure that would ensure the future of the business.

“We wanted to make sure that the company would continue well beyond our life spans,” says Raj, Mohan’s younger son and a council member at Tolaram.

Two days of spirited discussions and deliberations culminated in an agreement to reorganise the family business into three distinct units: a trust that would hold all assets, with the seven existing shareholders becoming beneficiaries of this trust; a philanthropic arm, Ishk Tolaram Foundation, which would be an eighth trustee and the trust’s single largest beneficiary; and a family office that would oversee the family’s assets.

It also led to the creation of a Family Constitution, which outlined the roles and responsibilities of family members within the new structure, laid out the rules of inheritance, and formally spelt out the five core values binding the family and the business.

“There were a lot of sensitive issues discussed, of course, but everyone could at least agree on the major aspects, so within two days, we had a framework for what we wanted the company to look like,” says Raj. “By the end of the year, we had made the necessary changes collectively.”

Structuring for the longer-term

The two-day event at the Capella was several years in the making.

Besides its financial impact, the crisis in 2000 had seen a number of family members exit the business. At the same time, not all members of the fourth generation trickling into the workforce saw their future in Tolaram. Beyond restructuring financially, there was growing recognition of the need to relook Tolaram’s ownership structure and preemptively address the danger of the business moving out of family hands if family members decided to sell their shares.

“It was a work-in-progress for several years,” says Haresh. “We had seen family businesses fall apart when the matriarch or patriarch passed on. And then there were other family businesses that did not. We realised that it was because they

were prepared for the long-term – and we were not.”

By then, Tolaram had gone through several incarnations, from a sole proprietorship under Khanchand, to a partnership under Mohan and Vishu, and now a seven-way ownership between Mohan, Vishu, Sajen, Haresh, Sonny, Raj and Tom – or the T7, as they were known.

It was at the Family Business Network (FBN) International Summit in Chicago in October 2010 that the idea of a more enduring ownership structure emerged.

“In retrospect, it was a pivotal point,” says Sajen. In the decade since 2000, Tolaram had restructured to build resilience and longevity into the financial aspect of the family business. Now, it shifted its attention to building the same into its ownership and governance structures.

“That was the learning captured over this period,” he says. “Most of the conversations we had during that event revolved around the longterm survival of family businesses. We spoke to several researchers and academics who pointed us in the right direction for solutions.”

The T7 holding the draft constitution: (from left to right) Haresh, Raj, Sajen, Vishu, Tom, Mohan and Sonny

Among them, Canadians Philippe and Nan-B de Gaspé Beaubian would be instrumental in explaining the concept of a trust and helping to secure support for the idea within Tolaram.

“We invited them to Singapore to speak to our family members, and to hold a workshop,” recalls Sajen. “It was clear that the concept made sense but it needed to have buy-in. Philippe and Nan-B helped build awareness, so people would get it, accept it, and eventually adopt it. We tasked Ang and his team with formulating their learnings into actionable terms.”

Beyond the ownership restructure, there were three other priorities: having weathered several storms, Tolaram wanted to ring-fence some of its reserves. “The family had gone through several episodes of making good money then losing it very dramatically. These episodes taught us the need to manage risks

– the idea of not putting all your eggs in one basket,” says Sajen.

Equally important was structuring its giving and formalising its five core values – trust, respect, commitment, courage, and humility – so they would be passed down to future generations along with the business.

“These values were crystallised in 2014, but had been inculcated into the family and business from the beginning. They are the values that have brought us to where we are today, and it is essential that they are passed down along with the business,” says Raj. “This will ensure that the business continues to grow in a responsible manner, and that each successive generation hands down an organisation that is in better shape than it was when they inherited it.”

Canadians Philippe (centre) and Nan-B de Gaspé Beaubian (right) helped get buy-in for the idea of a trust within Tolaram

“Longevity was a push factor, ensuring that no one family disagreement could break up the business. A trust separated family dynamics from the running of the business, and the constitution removed subjectivity and emotions from the equation. Everyone had to now follow pre-agreed guidelines” – Sumitra

The reorganisation would ensure that Tolaram continued to grow in strength as it was passed down from one generation to the next. Here (from left to right), Vishu, Mohan and Haresh

VALUES IN ACTION

TRUST

“The value-based system that is practised in the company is what differentiates us from other businesses”

–

Krishnan

“What the name Tolaram should evoke in people’s minds is the feeling that yes, they would like to be associated with us. Be it as a customer, supplier, employee, banker or in some other capacity, they must know they are working with a trusted and responsible business.”

– Dinesh Rathi, Managing Director, Lagos Free Zone

RESPECT

“I have multiple generations of people working with me – I have a father, I have his son, and I have his grandson. There is such loyalty for the company, and it’s purely because of the respect with which we treat each other.”

– Bashyam Krishnan, CEO, Horizon Pulp & Paper

“Trust is Tolaram’s real currency. All our relationships – with partners, consumers, employees, and beneficiaries – are based on this. Without it, Tolaram would have never made it this far.”

– Sandhya Aswani, Singapore Program Director, Ishk Tolaram Foundation

“Authority comes from the respect that you garner. People come to you because of who you are as a person, and as a leader.”

– Harpal Singh Hundal, CEO, Insurtech

COURAGE

“Entrepreneurship is rife with challenges, and when things don’t go as planned, Tolaram encourages team members to press on. We make mistakes, of course, but we openly talk about and own our mistakes, and share what we have learnt from them. And then we go on and take the next step.”

– Vishal Tulsian, President Director, Amar Bank

HUMILITY

“Where there would be several levels controlling access to the Chairman elsewhere, it was never the case at Tolaram. Mr Mohan knew everyone personally, and unlike in other groups, he made himself available whenever anyone needed his help. He also made sure we knew that our people came before pure profit.”

– K.K. Agrawal, former President Director, PT Bitratex Industries and PT Primayudha Mandirijaya

COMMITMENT

“I’m fortunate to have management who can see our potential, provide encouragement and are committed to our career progression and personal growth. The commitment is mutual, and we’re blessed to play a vital role in uplifting communities everywhere, and building a better future for the next generation.”

– Aisha Afzal Soofi, Senior Manager, Compliance

“The main reason this company has been so successful is because its leaders are really bold entrepreneurs. This has enabled employees to be courageous and to experiment in new geographies and implement learnings from their previous roles.”

– Deepak Singhal, Managing Director, Consumer Business; Board Member

“Over the years, the business has evolved and the business model has changed, but people-wise they have remained constant. They are humble, and respect others. It’s part of the family DNA.”

– Ang Kok Leong , T7 Advisor

“My boss, when he gave me a position of responsibility, his single mantra was, you need to genuinely care for people. And not just outwardly. You really have to be committed to your people, which means you take a 360-degree view of what is in their interest.”

– Navin Nahata, Managing Director, Fintech & Infrastructure; Board Member

“We hired experts to guide us, and drove the process together as a family”

– Haresh

Dr Marleen Dieleman (centre), who facilitated workshops leading up to the Capella meeting, as well as the meeting itself

The company brought in domain experts to act as sounding boards as they drove the process forward. Among them was Stacy Choong of Withers KhattarWong, who guided the legal process, and Dr Marleen Dieleman, an expert on strategy and governance in Asian family business groups, who was a key facilitator.

“I held a number of workshops with the T7,” says Dr Dieleman. “Each session covered certain topics – where they wanted to go, what they thought about succession, who would have what powers. My role was very simple – to give them the options and tell them the pros and cons of each. They

discussed what they wanted, and every time they came to an agreement, a document was drafted and fed back to them so they could change or refine the draft.”

“They were brilliant. They had a positive attitude to decision making and were able to make decisions together. They also had humour. Even when things got difficult, the humour was always there.”

– Dr Marleen Dieleman, facilitator

The workshops spanned several months, recalls Haresh. “We took a lot of time deliberating ideas, looking at other family business charters, and figuring out what would be best for us.”

The agreement for a trust structure and the formation of a family office and philanthropic arm also brought further considerations –the organisation needed to be able to stand up to scrutiny, “so we had to up our game with governance,” says Sajen. “We put in very clear rules about who gets to do what and when and how. We crafted a family constitution. We took a quantum leap in how we governed our businesses.”

“In a trust structure, no one is an owner, everyone is a beneficiary – so the benefits from the business or family office flow to the family without them actually owning the company or any shares. These are held by the trust. Current and future generations continue to be beneficiaries without the business being directly in their hands. The advantage of this structure is that it can last for generations”

– Ang

ISHK TOLARAM FOUNDATION

Ishk was founded by Mohan, and combines the names of his parents, Ishwari and Khanchand, to form the word that also means “love” in Urdu. To this Foundation, he bequeathed a significant portion of his share as a beneficiary of the trust. The Foundation channels funds directly towards philanthropic initiatives.

“We take our strategic direction from the Chairman, the geographies and issues we focus on are driven by him,” says Sumitra, who served as Executive Director of Ishk Tolaram Foundation from its inception until January 2023.

“We all work hard, but some people get more than others. When we have more than we need, we have to think about them.” – Mohan

“If we weren’t around, would it matter? And since we are around, how can we make a difference?”

–

Sumitra

WE ARE IMPACT-DRIVEN and take the lead on creating positive change using human-centred, evidence-based approaches.

The Foundation provides access to quality education, healthcare, and skills training, and within three main geographies, Nigeria, Indonesia and Singapore, with additional initiatives in Estonia, Egypt and South Africa.

“It took a bit of time to understand the processes – how to screen a grant, what kind of organisations we wanted to work with, governance, and the role of the

WE ARE RESPONSIBLE in our decision-making, with a focus on diligence and accountability to all our stakeholders.

Trainees from the inaugural batch of the Foundation’s early childhood teacher training programme

Board and management,” says Sumitra. “JP Morgan guided some of it, and we were also learning from our peers and other organisations, looking at how they were doing things. The Gates Foundation, for example, informed a number of our processes, and we learnt a lot from Kellogg in terms of structure.”

These topics, and the values and vision for Ishk, dominated discussions at a Board retreat in March 2017. The year that followed was one of “experimenting – and discovering what worked, and refining it.”

What is important, Sumitra says, is to find concrete ways to respond to the needs on the ground in each country. “Early philanthropists tended to decide how they wanted to give money away, which may not have reflected the lived experiences of those they wanted to support. The approach we’ve evolved is to be more responsive to the needs of the communities. We listen, then co-create solutions. It’s a ground-up view, where the team on the ground tells us how we can mobilise for a particular need.”

“For example, in Indonesia, we look at early childhood education. In Nigeria, we look at skills training for youth, specifically youth who aren’t able to access opportunities through traditional education, and

in Singapore, we focus on inclusive education to enable children and youth with different abilities and from different backgrounds to thrive.”

A growing priority has been to make giving more strategic and to apply the most effective tools and financing to solve deeper societal issues.

“The impact space has changed,” says Sumitra. “If we think about our early giving, putting items into packets and handing them out, these were short-term and unsustainable. Today, we try to understand the root causes and how we can collaborate with others to drive effective solutions.”

WE ARE COMMITTED to our purpose, our communities, and our partnerships for the long-term.

“If we could make 20,000 to 30,000 impactful contributions each year during my lifetime, we would make a difference to a million people – assuming I live to be 85! It would be an honour to help the Foundation achieve that.” – Raj

WE ARE COLLABORATIVE and work with others to share expertise and deliver value beyond our own capabilities.

WE ARE CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING and adapting our work to align with best practices and emerging ideas.

TOLARAM FAMILY OFFICE

“The main idea behind the Family Office was to diversify our investment portfolio in order to mitigate risk,” says Raj, a Tolaram Council Member and one of its trustees. While the business continues to invest in developing markets such as Africa, the family wanted to be able to gain access to global capital markets, and build a portfolio in asset classes that were industry and geographically diverse, he says.

Splitting investments into two distinct pools –one supporting its business interests and the other geared towards the management of the family’s reserves – would also allow it to have a balanced risks and rewards portfolio.

“This would be a safety net. In times of need, there would be funds we can access,” Sajen says.

A lot of time was spent on the initial priorities – building the systems, processes and a team that could deliver on the mandate of preserving its reserves, and developing comprehensive corporate governance frameworks to guide decisionmaking and ensure a disciplined and structured approach to investing.

Besides providing transparency and accountability, clear objectives and

parameters would allow the Family Office to make investment choices that were aligned with Tolaram’s goals and risk tolerance.

“The formal structure and mandate for the Family Office insulates it from personality-driven investment decisions. It also segregates the family’s financial assets from its business assets, which again is prudent from a risk management point of view, given the size and span of our operations.” – Sajen

In 2021, Tolaram’s asset management arm Maitri was awarded “B Corp” certification, putting it among a global community of companies that use business as a force for good and for building a sustainable economy. Its overall score on the B Impact assessment was almost double the current median score. On its website, B Lab notes that Tolaram is led by “a strong set of values and responsible investing principles with a focus on ESG”.

SOME THINGS CHANGE, AND SOME STAY THE SAME

Tolaram has continually reinvented itself to remain relevant in a changing world. But its core drivers have remained constant

“Before, we hired mainly through references. Now, we have a robust in-house vehicle in place to recruit talent from top business schools. The average age of the key executives used to be 50 years, currently it is 30 years. The company has changed a lot since I joined. In 1999, we had a few thousand people working for us, now we have more than 20,000.”

– Deepak Singhal

“We now have a very strong employee benefit scheme – it’s a cool ownership model because people who have a stake are invested in its success.”

– Haresh Aswani

“The entrepreneurial spirit is the same but there is a lot more experience and professional advice behind decision-making.”

– Sumitra Aswani

“What has remained the same is our value system, even if the kinds of industries we are in have changed.”

– Sajen Aswani

“We evaluate business opportunities much more thoroughly. We have more professional staff to conduct due diligence, then we pick and choose partners who can add value. The company also has the advantage of country knowledge, for example, Nigeria.”

– Ang Kok Leong

“Surprisingly, we haven’t lost that entrepreneurial risk-taking ability. Generally, when corporations become bigger, the fear of failing increases. In this organisation, even though we have become bigger, there is no fear of taking risks, we are not afraid of trying new ideas.”

– Vishal Tulsian

“You cannot be both a player and the referee. As stewards, we now play the role of referee and coach rather than being on the playing field” – Sajen

The fourth generation had a chance to weigh in on the kind of future they envisioned for the business

The signing of the agreements triggered another process – Tolaram’s first Family Assembly in January 2017 to bring the fourth generation and other family members up to speed on the new structure, and to answer any questions they had. “For two days, they were brought up to date on the financials of the company, the businesses we were involved in, how the various regions had performed, and our thoughts about the future,” says Haresh.

By this time, several members of the fourth generation had also attended a number of networking events related to family-led businesses. “We wanted to introduce them to a community of other family businesses so they realised our challenges were not unique,” he says.

Those experiences helped frame what they then heard during the Family Assembly, and how they viewed their own roles in the business.

“We discussed navigating intergenerational conversations, our decisions on whether or not to join the businesses and, if we did, how to work with family. They were not topics we had spoken about often. But the Family Business Network events allowed us to have these conversations, and be real about it,” says Sandhya, who joined Ishk Tolaram Foundation later that year.

Putting new processes into place

With the reorganisation of the ownership structure, executive decision-making was ceded to the professionals in the business. Each company within the organisation now had a Board of Directors who made key decisions, while the family adopted a more strategic role and retained veto power.

“We gave professional hires the autonomy to run things — they can present ideas to the Board, and if they get the go ahead, they have the freedom to run with it,” says

Haresh. “There are quarterly board meetings and less formal reviews, but we don’t micromanage.”

An incentive plan tying rewards to success also helped reinforce an ownership mindset as strategies were brought to life.

A purpose-driven organisation

With the new structures in place, the evolution of Tolaram does not come to an end.

There is more fine-tuning to come, says Sumitra, with Tolaram now re-looking its core business strategies to make the company a more responsible business.

“We’re very good at mitigating financial and political risk, but we also need to think about social and environmental risk,” she says. “If we are relying on 20,000 employees, and not looking after their well-being, or the well-

being of their communities, this business will not continue to exist. So we’re building that into our models for the long-term health of the business.”

As the fourth generation trickles in, finding that balance between business and community goals will remain a priority, she says.

For the generation that will someday make way for these new stewards, it is nothing new. “Our journey has been one of constant reinvention. It is important that we remain a learning company, that we absorb ideas, churn them, and adopt what’s good. And not just business ideas but management ideas and family cohesion ideas,” says Sajen.

“Change has always been a part of the Tolaram story, and it will be how Tolaram remains relevant to communities and markets in the years to come.”

Anusha, the first of Khanchand’s greatgrandchildren to join Tolaram in 2010, had been working in corporate communications at the Singapore office for three years when Sonny approached her with the idea of formalising the company’s giving. “Up to that point, people would approach the Chairman and tell him about a charity that needed money, and he would say yes. We decided that we needed to formalise our giving, and that’s how the Tolaram Foundation started,” she says. Much of the Foundation’s early focus was on sanitation, women’s empowerment, healthcare and education. “My main focus was sanitation, and through that, women’s empowerment. In Nigeria, we worked with the World Toilet Organisation to create safe places for sanitation in rural parts of Lekki. Since we

were building a port there, we wanted to give back, starting with schools,” she says. The company built toilets in schools in the area, and then educated the children on handwashing and the importance of hygiene. In particular, providing girls with facilities that they could use safely while at school meant that they stayed in school through puberty. “That was a big part of my work, and what drove me,” says Anusha. Ad hoc projects were also funded through the Foundation. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to mark his 50th birthday, Sonny met a group of 10 girls with no means to continue their education. “He put in a proposal to help them, which we did.” The Tolaram Foundation was succeeded by Ishk Tolaram Foundation in 2016.

Making giving meaningful has been a focus for Anusha, both in her professional and private life. During her time at Tolaram, she worked with Sonny to set up Tolaram Foundation, and create a structure around the company’s giving

Anusha Aswani

TOGETHER,

WE GO FURTHER

Even with all the governance documents and structures in place, values alignment within a family and the business is still the single most important key, says Sajen. The bigger – and more diverse – the business, the more critical alignment is.

“Organisations can thrive without a written constitution if the people in the room are set up in broad agreement, like-minded and have some basic values that bind them. Families can have a ‘conflict of emotions’ or even a ‘conflict of needs’ but the most fatal is a ‘conflict of values’ – and the surest way of retaining harmony is to align values and aspirations.”

He admits that full alignment is a constant work in progress.

“You just try and get as much alignment as you can over time,” he says. A quote from Bono, lead singer of Irish rock band U2, is what he often draws on to make his point.

“The hardest thing to do is to stick together – mates, family, marriage, business, bands. It’s like resisting gravity. It’s like King Canute sitting in his chair trying to talk back the tide. But you can, and we have, and we will turn the waves around. The alternative is too predictable. You rid the room of argument. You empty your life of the people you need the most.” – Bono

“I can identify with what he’s doing, keeping the band together. It’s not so different from a family business in that no one person builds it, but everyone does. Take a member out and things start to fall apart, even if you don’t realise how much of a unit it is when you’re in it.

But keeping it together and navigating the bumps is something you can only do when you’re aligned on values and purpose. That’s why we place so much focus on that. You might be able to move quicker alone, but together, you can go further.”

ISHK: IMPACT-DRIVEN GIVING

From limbs to livelihoods

Ishk Limb Centre opened in Lagos in 2009 as a way for Tolaram to give back to the community they had become a part of. The Centre fabricates and fits custom-made prosthetic limbs to amputees for free, not only to restore mobility but also to allow them to regain their independence and secure their livelihoods. Amputees who come to the Centre typically walk out with their new limb the same day. “I remember they took my measurements, and when it was time to go home, I took the leg back with me,” says Johnson Akingboye, who received a prosthetic leg in 2010. Today, Johnson is a Limb Technician at the Centre. “When I meet someone, they usually ask me, ‘Can I use this thing to walk?’ And I say to them, ‘What if I told you that the person standing before you now is using one, how would you feel?”. Today, prosthetic limbs are also fitted at Centres in Port Harcourt and Abuja. To reach amputees outside key cities, mobile Ishk Limb Centre camps are held in various Nigerian cities in partnership with state governments and non-profit organisations. In 2017, the Centre was adopted by Ishk Tolaram Foundation. The Ishk Limb Centre continues to evolve, developing new prosthetic prototypes that provide recipients with even greater functionality. In August 2022, it fitted its 20,000th prosthetic limb.

Former tanker driver Jimoh Oluwaseun fell into depression when he lost his leg in a work accident in 2005. In 2013, he called Ishk, and received an appointment and prosthetic limb the same day. Jimoh is now married, and works as a trader by day, and DJ by night

Creating skills for life

Through Ishk Skills Hub, Ishk Tolaram Foundation provides Nigerian youth with scholarships to pursue vocational skills training, and access to internship opportunities through its partners. In addition to their training, new students attend two other courses: a pre-training personal effectiveness course, and a post-training employability and entrepreneurship course.

“This better equips them for the workplace, not just in terms of technical skills, but also character,” says Oje Ivagba, Deputy Program Director (Nigeria). “Many of our students say they are more confident because of it.”

The Foundation also provides the necessary support for aspiring entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. To date, over 500 students have gone through the Skills Hub, and close to 300 have either secured employment or started their own businesses.

“During the six months of vocational training and internship, I learnt about construction, from site investigation and preparation to soil testing and excavation. I also learnt soft skills that helped me develop better management skills and time management habits, which I applied during my internship. Now I dream of starting my own business one day.” – Joseph Raimi

Sandhya Aswani, Program Director at Ishk Tolaram Foundation

“I feel that we have an immense responsibility to contribute positively to the world, and to empower others with the privileges and resources we have. We have continually benefited from the communities around us, and we can now channel our resources towards paying this forward.

For me, Ishk Tolaram Foundation provides a unique opportunity: I am able to do all of that while also working in inclusive education, a field I am passionate about. It means I can add value with the skills I have while also reshaping conversations and ideas around responsibility, giving and philanthropy.

Philanthropy and giving goes back generations in our family. But now, we think about how to make our approaches to giving even more impactful, strategic, and scalable, while being structured. We also want to ensure that philanthropy and sustainability aren’t just the responsibility of the Foundation, but an ethos embraced across the organisation. It needs to guide everyday decisions, across all our stakeholder groups.

That’s the only way we can create the change that will allow us to build the kind of world we want to live in – and that we want future generations to inherit.”

Best possible start in life

Through Ishk Peduli Anak Indonesia, which supports quality early childhood education and development, over 2,200 early childhood educators across 11 Indonesian cities have received training in child-centred and inquiryand play-based instruction. The programmes are co-created by lshk Tolaram Foundation and are an extension of Diklat Berjenjang, the Indonesian government’s programme to improve teachers’ competencies in early childhood education, and increase the number of qualified teachers. “Play enables children to learn and grow through experience, discovery and deep physical,

mental and social engagement,” says Mimu Aswani, Indonesia Programme Director for the Foundation. By training teachers in the best available practices, we help create thriving learning environments, she says. The programme continues to grow its reach across Indonesian cities.

Funding with large-scale impact

In Singapore, the focus is on helping to scale programmes that provide access to quality education and skills training to underserved individuals through grants, innovative financing and collaborative initiatives. This includes programmes that

Mimu Aswani (centre), Indonesia Programme Director for the Foundation, keeps children entertained during Ishk Peduli Anak Indonesia, the Foundation’s early childhood teacher training programme

provide specialised intervention for children with additional learning needs, as well as scholarships and mentorships that give youth access to financial support, social capital and learning opportunities with industry experts. “We go beyond providing funding,” says Sandhya Aswani, Programme Director for Singapore at the Foundation. “We work alongside social service organisations to co-create solutions to complex issues and address areas of need that do not receive as much resourcing. We also enhance awareness around these issues.”

To that end, the Foundation co-funded a pilot that provides targeted support to transnational families from low-income households. “They often face systemic barriers to accessing education, healthcare, and legal aid,” explains Sandhya, who co-founded the initiative. This sort of collaborative philanthropy, which rallies players from across sectors around a shared vision, is critical to driving large-scale and sustainable impact, she says. “We also make a concerted effort to try and bridge the gap between funders and the ground. It’s critical to listen to the voice of communities and to consider their lived experiences – it’s hard to create meaningful and effective solutions otherwise.”

Ishk Tolaram Foundation is also part of the first-ever social impact bond to be administered in Singapore. It supports sustainable employment for young adults with autism.

Nurturing a culture of giving

At Tolaram, the culture of philanthropy transcends what the Foundation does. Pass-it-On was created by the Foundation in 2019 to provide Tolaram’s employees with grants they can use to partner with nonprofits in projects benefiting communities in the countries Tolaram is present in. The year it was established, Ololade Oladipupo and Dunny Kareem, both from the Lagos Free Zone, received a grant to collaborate with the Anchor Heritage Initiative in Nigeria, which provides free legal representation to unjustly imprisoned inmates. Their Pass-it-On grant supported vocational training workshops for inmates to ensure their livelihoods after release. Grants have also gone towards providing free medical care, professional development for teachers, free cataract surgeries and food relief.

Remaining closely connected to the ground has helped the Foundation keep programmes relevant. Pictured here: Sandhya (left), with a teacher from the Help the Children programme

CHAPTER 8

Leading with Purpose

Nigerian officials expect that Lekki Port alone will add $360 billion to the country’s economy over the next 45 years, and create 150,000 additional jobs in the country

2018 2019

Tolaram and Kellogg open a JV cereal and snack foods factory in the Lagos Free Zone

Production begins at the Lush Factory in Lagos

Production begins at Kellogg-Tolaram noodle factory in Egypt

Construction for Phase 1 of the Lagos Free Zone starts

Begins producing instant noodles in Ghana

Construction of Lekki Port begins

2021

Production begins at Kellogg-Tolaram noodle factory in Eswatini

Senior leadership roundtable for Tolaram’s sustainability strategy

2022

Lush Factory starts operations in Kenya

Colgate JV begins production in the LFZ

2023

Lekki Port is officially commissioned; the first commercial vessel berths

“My great grandfather Khanchand had huge respect for people and community. He understood back then that our well-being is connected to the well-being of those around us and the communities we are part of” – Sumitra Aswani

Driving along the Ibeju Lekki Axis, there is a constant buzz of human activity. Every now and then, traffic traversing the single road connecting Lagos to the area slows to navigate the bustling marketplaces.

On what was once barren land with scattered signs of life, schools, churches, and a variety of small businesses now fill the landscape, serving an ever-growing population. At the heart of the activity are key developments, among them the 850-hectare Lekki Port and Lagos Free Zone (LFZ).

“Around the world, port-based cities have always been at the forefront of driving economic activity and trade, enhancing the competitive positioning of the host cities,” says Tejaswi AV, Tolaram’s General Manager for Strategic Marketing and Business Development, who leads the business development team for the Free Zone. “So far, our development alone has generated 4,000 direct and 15,000 indirect jobs,” he says. By the end of 2035, the number of people working on-site is projected to swell to 40,000, with a corresponding impact on GDP.

For Tolaram, the LFZ and Lekki Port represent the culmination of more than

two decades navigating twists and turns, from political and economic crises, to a global pandemic. The decision to press on, however, was not a difficult one. “Our business had benefited for a long time from being part of the community. It was time to give back,” says Mohan.

A people-centric mindset

While the development may seem a long way from handing out biscuits and stationery to children at Malang, the ethos is the same, says Sumitra Aswani, who oversees Tolaram’s sustainability and purpose initiatives.

“My great grandfather Khanchand had huge respect for people and community. He understood back then that our wellbeing is connected to the well-being of those around us and the communities we are part of,” she says. “Each generation has been raised with this basic tenet of stewardship. As the scale of our operations has grown, the scope of our responsibility has increased. But for Tolaram, responsible stewardship has always been intrinsically linked to people. When we move forward, we move forward collectively.”

LFZ: A ZONE OF OPPORTUNITY

“The management of security situations has always been a huge task but thanks to the glory of God, and with the tremendous support of my boss, Mr Gokil Rajan, I have recorded many success stories with my team. Tolaram has given me a platform on which to excel”.

– Matthew Erinle, Assistant Security Manager, LFZ

“The employment opportunity at LFZ has helped me understand what team spirit is and to become a better team player,” says Junior Fire Officer, Kafayat Odukoya. With advanced fire training, Kafayat is today a competent and dependable firefighter, and an example to other girls in the local community.

This is reflected in Tolaram’s relationship with its employees, partners and the communities its businesses are part of.

In the works at the LFZ is a skills development centre, a joint initiative with Ishk Tolaram Foundation, that will offer vocational and industrial training to youths and young adults from the host communities – the eight villages along the Ibeju Lekki Axis. Once trained, they can seek employment within the zone, with Tolaram, as the LFZ developer, or with LFZ tenants, which already include companies like Kellogg, Colgate, and Arla Food. “We have an active policy within the free zone to hire from the local

“I joined the LFZ in 2007 as a casual gardener with little experience. Through the support of my departmental head and superiors, I have gathered more knowledge on horticulture and landscaping. Now, LFZ has given me the opportunity to start supervising and executing garden projects both in the zone and externally.” – Abayomi Michael, Horticulture Officer

community wherever possible,” says Tejaswi. More than a quarter of LFZ’s 560 employees today come from the host communities. “Most jobs now are unskilled or semi-skilled positions, but if they have an adequate academic foundation, we can absorb them into managerial positions,” he says.

To that end, Tolaram has sponsored an annual science challenge since 2016. More than 1,000 students from 16 schools have participated in the competition so far, with the top student from each school receiving a Tolaram scholarship to hone their Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills at university.

SMALL LOANS, BIG IMPACT

In 2022, Tolaram launched a programme it hopes will help empower women from its host communities. Under the programme, a woman from each of the eight villages around LFZ is given sufficient funds to set up a petty goods shop. Once the business takes off, they repay 60% of that amount, which is then used to fund the next beneficiary. “We hope this will help empower the women and ultimately contribute to

the development of families, which are the building blocks of society,” says Vishal, LFZ’s Chief Sustainability Officer, who conceptualised the project and oversees its implementation.

In November 2002, Hassan Suliat Adejoke, then unemployed, became the first woman to be awarded a grant to start a business and Point-of-Sale terminal for cash transactions. Today she is independent and her business, self-sustaining.

Developing STEM skills will position students well for future opportunities – in the LFZ, and beyond

The initiatives are part of a larger social, environmental and economic commitment that Tolaram assumes in the community, encompassing everything from installing solarpowered street lights on community roads and microcredit schemes to empower women, to equipping local schools with libraries.

“We consistently engage with our host communities,” says Tejaswi. “We work with the Bales (heads of community), youth chairmen and women leaders to find out what they need, and we channel our resources to support these needs”.

LUSH HAIR ACADEMY: TRESSED FOR SUCCESS

Lush Hair began as a way to prevent 500 people from losing their livelihoods when a carpet factory in Ikorodu, Lagos, was in danger of being closed. “It was clear that carpets were a sunset industry, but we wanted to find a way to keep the facility alive and jobs intact,” says Deepak. “So when the management team came up with the idea of using carpet fibres to make hair extensions, we decided to give it our best shot.” The yarn machines were adapted to produce hair products, and Lush Hair Factory opened for business.

It did not take long for it to become clear that hairstylists were key to building the brand. The problem was, there was an acute lack of trained hairstylists in the city. And most of those that were there, were self-taught. “So, we decided to train them, so they could start their own businesses and earn a livelihood,” he says.

“Salons are easy to set up, and demand is always high in Nigeria.”

In February 2021, Lush Hair partnered with the Lagos Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Development to launch the Lush Hair Academy, which would provide training in professional

hair styling to Nigerian youths for free. To date, the Academy has trained more than 168 hairstylists.

Meanwhile, Lush Hair Factory today produces a full range of hair products for the local market, and employs 3,100 people.

LEKKI PORT: A PROMISE FULFILLED

On January 22, 2023, French container freighter CMA CGM MOZART became the first commercial vessel to dock at Lekki Deep Sea Port, marking a milestone in Nigeria’s maritime history.

With a draft of 16.5m, Lekki is Nigeria’s first deep sea port, and one of the deepest ports in West Africa. “It is a game changer,” says Tejaswi. “It makes it possible for vessels carrying up to 18,000 containers to berth at the terminal. That’s four times more than the average vessel calling at Nigerian ports today.”

Integrated into the Lagos Free Zone, which offers world-class infrastructure and logistics, the development is expected to attract foreign investment into Nigeria, while increasing development, employment, and prosperity in the region.

Against all odds

The massive undertaking to build a worldclass port was seeded more than two decades ago with a request, and a promise.

“It was to fulfil a promise that our Chairman made to the then Nigerian President,” says Sajen. “He saw Mr Mohan as a serious industrialist and Tolaram as a long-standing investor in Africa, so he petitioned us to embark on the project.”

There were many reasons to say no – Tolaram had little experience in infrastructure, and certainly not at this scale, and Nigeria had never embarked on a privatepublic-partnership before. “There were no laws or institutional frameworks for such a business model,” says Navin. Furthermore, Tolaram was itself restructuring at the time. “But Mr Mohan agreed with the President that there was a bottleneck in the existing port. More importantly, it was an opportunity for us to give back to a country we had done so well in,” he says.

However, it would take more than a decade for the project to get off the ground, and another decade before CMA CGM MOZART would dock at the port.

Among the many obstacles that had to be navigated, the financial crisis in 2016 came closest to derailing the project, says Navin.

By 2013, Tolaram was close to achieving financial closure, having secured the participation of a consortium of six banks and institutions, including a number of international heavyweights. The years that followed, however, were years of political and financial upheaval for the country. Oil prices fell by half between June 2015 and February 2016, and the naira was devalued by a third.

As a result, business sentiment took a dive. “By the end of 2016, nearly all our partners had pulled out citing high risk. That was the lowest moment,” Navin admits.

However, the decision was made to stay the course. “Our Chairman had made that promise, and because of that, we kept to it.” The team returned to the drawing board, adjusted the project to enhance its feasibility, and then began looking for new partners. In 2018, it found a partner in China Harbour Engineering Company, which shared a similar view on the longterm prospects of the project, and was keen to co-invest with Tolaram. Tolaram would operate the port under a 45-year concession agreement.

With the port back on track, work on LFZ also began in earnest, starting with a feasibility study on the project’s impact. “In a project as large as this, it is important to understand who would be impacted, and how. So one of the first things we did was an ESG study,” says Tejaswi. The findings were incorporated into the masterplan, and integrated into the development (see LFZ: Going for Green, p158). Engagement with the host communities began simultaneously and continues so any concerns can be addressed.

Giving a commitment shape

Today, top-of-the-line cranes line Lekki Port’s 1.2km quay ready to serve calling ships. Among them are five Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes capable of servicing the largest container vessels sailing the oceans.

Extending from the port, the LFZ offers infrastructure from warehouses, prebuilt standard factories, and central gas-based power stations, to high-quality internal roads and civil infrastructure.

“One thing we learnt and demonstrated as part of the development of this infrastructure project is the value of tenacity. Every time there was a setback, we just asked ourselves, ‘What do we do next? What are the possible solutions to this new roadblock’,” says Navin. “But there was never any doubt that the port and Free Zone would materialise. The conviction was always there. Tolaram had made a commitment – we were always going to see it through.”

LFZ: GOING FOR GREEN

“We decided that sustainability was going to be the cornerstone of our strategy for the Free Zone, and within the LFZ team, there was whole-hearted acceptance of the idea. We were not there just to make a profit but to create value in a way that would be good for society and the environment,” says Navin. “We started with an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and public consultations, and incorporated those findings into our masterplan. For example, our masterplan has 44 hectares of green and blue cover, which –among other things – will mitigate the potential loss of biodiversity from the change in land use. Our buildings are Green-certified and we

have a clear policy on renewable energy. There is a clause in our lease agreements which requires our tenants to either place solarbased power installations on their rooftops or allow us to do so, so that we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. To protect marine biodiversity in the Lekki Port area, we have also ensured there are safe places for turtles to come onto the beach and lay their eggs. It makes a lot of sense from a sustainability point of view, but it also makes business sense. The context of doing business is changing, and if you want to be relevant in the next 25 years or so, a sustainable way of doing business is a must-have.”

From the outset, the Lagos Free Zone set itself apart through its commitment to sustainability

COVID-19: PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST

On April 9, 2020, Tolaram employees across the business woke up to an email from the leadership. In the midst of the worst global crisis since World War II, came reassurance. “We decided that we would take stock of the impact of the disruptions when the situation improved,” says Sajen. “For now, we would keep the factories producing essential consumer goods running, and focus on protecting the well-being of our people.” In the weeks and months that followed, Tolaram put into place Covid protocols in all its locations, providing protective gear and masks. In Nigeria, where infection numbers were rising alarmingly, it set up disinfectant tunnels in 20 major markets across Lagos, and secured a 110-bed hospital to ensure sick employees would get the care they needed. Meanwhile, around the world, Tolaram employees pulled together to see each other through one of the worst pandemics in recent times.

“We sell to 70 countries, and when Covid-19 hit, most of those countries went into a lockdown. Borders were closed, and the entire value chain was affected. In Europe, when there is a downturn, you downsize. Instead, we had six town halls with our staff. I told them where we and the business stood – that layoffs and salary cuts were not on the cards. We would continue running the business, and it would be tough, but we’d come out of it. What we needed was a commitment from them to run the mill effectively, and produce the best quality at the lowest cost. The whole team rose to the occasion.

Suggestions came from every level, and we found ways to cut costs. It’s a two-way process: you feel for the people, and they feel for you.”

– Bashyam Krishnan

“Covid-19 lasted for two years, and during that time, senior staff got home-cooked food every day, prepared by the wives of the leadership team. Junior staff also got food delivered, paid for by the company. The way it looks after its employees says a lot about the company.” – Ang Kok Leong

“There were cases where some of our people were hospitalised, and their families, who lived outside Nigeria, were very worried. So we arranged to give them daily updates. We had someone who made video calls to their families every day. Compared to some of the other things we did, this was a small thing, but it made a big difference at a time when everyone was afraid.” – Deepak Singhal

“I was one of the first from the leadership team to test positive for Covid-19, so I can personally vouch for all the proactive steps taken by the company to ensure safety and medical care for its people. From hiring the best doctors and securing treatment for its staff at a dedicated hospital, to setting up Covid protocols, and evacuating staff to their home countries when required, they left no stone unturned. They made sure that their employees and their families were safe, healthy and had peace of mind.” – Sandeep Parasramka, CFO Africa (Consumer Business)

“One day in the middle of the pandemic, Mr Harpal called me for help. One of our colleagues and her family had gotten Covid. She was having breathing difficulties and her husband felt worse. Between us, we called more than 20 hospitals in the Jabodetabek area of Jakarta to no avail. Finally, through a personal connection, we managed to secure beds for them. Our colleague and her husband received the treatment they needed, and recovered well. That’s what we do for each other – we go the extra mile.” – Sherley Pitrus, Executive Officer and HR Manager, Tolaram Indonesia

“In what turned out to be a prescient initiative, Tolaram engaged Vesta Healthcare Partners in March 2020 to provide Corporate Medical Advisory Services for its workforce in Nigeria. Within weeks, the whole world was locked down in an unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. Working with Sandeep Parasramka and Dinesh Rathi, we quickly constituted a “War Council” which met regularly online to plan risk mitigation and as well as conduct situation reviews. We also liaised with relevant Nigerian government authorities. It is notable that in over 200 cases of Covid-19 diagnosed across the company, there were few cases requiring intensive care, and not one single mortality.” – Professor Folabi Ogunlesi, Chief Medical Adviser to Tolaram; Managing Partner, Vesta Healthcare Partners

“During Covid nobody could go home. The drivers and cleaners had to stay in the compound for weeks at a time. We didn’t know a lot about Covid then, so there was also a lot of fear. What we did was organise hampers filled with our food products and gave them out, also to people on the streets. It was a small thing, but it was something that we could do.” – Vivek Aswani

“Tolaram’s strong value-centred culture, people and leadership were central to our decision to enter a long-term joint venture with them. These, in addition to their resilience and growth mindset, have created a valuable foundation for us as we build an enduring business together” – Amit Banati, Vice Chairman & Chief Financial Officer at Kellogg

Ensuring everyone wins

The same philosophy is reflected in the win-win relationships it has with its partners, which have deepened as a result of mutual respect and a commitment to shared value.

When Kellogg first entered the African market with Tolaram in 2015, noodles were not on its mind. The cereal giant wanted to focus on its existing breakfast and snack brands, and leverage Tolaram’s understanding of the local market and distribution reach. But Tolaram, which had already successfully launched several instant noodle brands in Nigeria and Ghana, understood the growing appetite for the savoury snack across the continent. It was sure that if it could convince Kellogg to take a bet on noodles, they would be able to take the product across Africa, and then beyond.

What started as an “experiment” on a single line of an existing plant in 2017 has grown to include two joint-venture factories in Egypt and Kingdom of Eswatini. The partners have also established a cereal and snack foods factory in the LFZ that serves the West African market.

“Despite two major devaluations and an economic crisis in Nigeria, we have continued to grow the business. We

know the market well, and it benefits them – and us,” says Deepak, who oversees the Kellogg-Tolaram joint venture. “When people understand that whatever you do is on the principle of win-win, and never I-win-you-lose, then a bond of trust is formed. Our relationship with Kellogg grew because of this. It also made it easier for them to recommend us to other partners like Colgate.”

Along with creating mutually beneficial outcomes, sustainability is a central consideration to business relationships today. Concerns around strained natural resources and climate change have redefined what it means to be a responsible steward, and this demands a more systematic approach to environmental stewardship, says Sumitra.

“We’re living in a very different time from when the business was started,” she says. “In the past, we responded to political, economic and social crises, but today, the world is faced with a literal existential crisis for humanity at a global scale. Every individual, business, and government has a role to play in mitigation and adaptation efforts.”

This is especially critical in emerging markets, where growth cannot come at the expense of the environment, she says.

“As Tolaram enters its next phase, we know that our business goals and sustainability strategy need to go hand in hand if we want to continue to be a responsible, innovative, and long-standing business,” she says.

Giving sustainability a structure

The idea of integrating sustainability into its decision-making process began taking root in 2017.

“We were beginning to realise that if we were going to talk about longevity, it needed to be about more than the family and the business,” says Sumitra, who made a number of initial presentations to the Board. With the world using up its resources at almost twice the rate they are

being replenished, any considerations about longevity must include considerations about sustainability and the environment, she says.

It was Covid-19, however, that upped the ante and drove the message home.

The pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains and laid bare social and environmental fault lines. “Businesses were unprepared for the level of disruption it caused. It prompted us to look more closely at other potential risks on the horizon –social inequality and climate change were two that came up,” she says.

While various business units were already pursuing energy efficiency or tackling social issues through their CSR programmes,

The opening of the Kellogg-Tolararm plant on December 1, 2017. Pictured here: Deepak, Director of Projects Sagar Dixit, Haresh, Kellogg’s CEO Steve Cahillane, former Kellogg’s CFO Fareed Khan, current Kellogg’s CFO Amit Banati, and Gerald Mahinda, former Managing Director of Kellogg Africa, Middle East, Turkey, and Pakistan

In 2020, Horizon exceeded EU2020 climate and energy targets with an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, 80% increase in the share of renewable energy used in production, and a 21% increase in energy efficiency compared to 2010 levels

With the help of its CHP plant, Horizon hopes to cut its emissions by 85% by 2025

CHP: A CLEANER MODEL FOR GROWTH

A stone’s throw from Tolaram’s pulp and paper mill in Kehra, Estonia, its combined heat and power plant (CHP) converts biomass into energy, feeding four megawatts of electricity and 30 tons of steam to Horizon per hour through cables and pipes connecting the two plants.

“It has a two-fold impact: it reduces waste and it provides clean energy,” says Krishnan, who is leading the business’ efforts to reduce Horizon’s greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2025. “We are looking to increase the use of renewable energy to over 90%, partly through solar power generation – a

project we are already working on – and to also increase our internal capacity to generate renewable energy from our existing facilities,” he says.

CHP represents the culmination of a long-term goal to increase Tolaram’s use of renewable power. Since 2005, the company has been proactively investing in equipment that promotes the reuse, reduction and eventual elimination of physical waste from its mill, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This includes water treatment plants that treat industrial waste water, making it safe for reuse.

TUNAIKU: FOSTERING FINANCIAL INCLUSION

In a country where 77% of adults are unbanked or underbanked, Amar Bank offers personal loans of up to IDR 20 million to both individuals and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through its digital platform Tunaiku. Along with financial inclusion, Indonesia’s first digital bank aims to improve financial literacy, and through it, help its customers make better financial decisions. “We hold discussions and webinars such as Ngopi Bareng Bang Amar for various communities to increase their financial literacy, especially in financial planning, and show them how they can use the loans they get through Tunaiku to improve their lives,” says Vishal Tulsian, President Director of Amar Bank. Using big data and predictive analytics, Amar Bank has provided more than Rp 9 trillion in loans to over 14 million customers in the nine years since its 2014 launch, the majority of whom would not have qualified for traditional loans. It has also empowered over 560,000 MSMEs.

what Tolaram needed was a consistent and cohesive approach encompassing the company as a whole. “That’s what we are trying to do now, create a structure that will bring the initiatives that we have been championing over the years together, so that we can improve the accuracy of our impact reporting, and set and work towards a common set of targets,” says Sumitra.

In a senior leadership roundtable in March 2021, Tolaram made the decision to formalise its sustainability plan. A sustainability team was formed and tasked with formulating a comprehensive sustainability strategy, including plans to reduce Tolaram’s carbon footprint and deepen its positive social impact on the communities it operates in. The team reported to Deepak and Navin, who led the sustainability sub-committee, and answered to the CEO.

“As trustees and leaders, it is our job to look into the future and find ways to steer to a safer harbour. Sustainability is important for risk management, but will also be good for Tolaram, and will allow us to better attract talent, capital, the right partners and even government support. It is not a choice. Formalising our vision takes it beyond symbolism, it creates a methodological approach to having an impact. This is how you build a legacy.” – Navin

A LONG-STANDING TRADITION OF MENTORING

From its earliest days, those who joined Tolaram – many of whom remained for decades – would pass on the knowledge and wisdom they gained to newcomers. This early form of mentorship would develop and continue through the years. When the business expanded across the globe and professionals came on board, they too became part of this mentoring culture, and later on, mentees themselves became mentors.

“In India, there is a very siloed approach to how you learn the business. You focus only on what you are doing. At Tolaram, I have a 360-degree view, and feel like someone who is creating something meaningful. Sajen empowers you in this way. He gives you the responsibility to make your own decisions. Mr Prem, too, has been a mentor to many of us in the leadership team. And now, we are carrying on in the same tradition, passing on what we have learnt from them, and through our own experiences and effort. Do I do it consciously? Not really. It’s part of our company DNA, and of being a leader. And as a leader, there is no greater satisfaction than seeing somebody under you do well.”

– Navin Nahata, Managing Director, Fintech & Infrastructure

“My first mentor was Deepak Singhal – he has taught me a lot over time, and shown me that effort and attention to detail are key to success. He has also helped me sharpen my skills, especially when negotiating large business deals or dealing with clients from large companies.”

– Vivek Aswani, Former Business Development Executive

Mohan (left) and Vishu (right) remain trusted advisors to Sajen and his team

“Canadian author, Bob Proctor once said: “A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.” This resonates deeply with me. From his critical appraisal to encouragement, Mr Prem has brought out the best in me. He has been there for me as an advisor, coach, clarifier, challenger, protector and affirmer. Answering my myriad questions with utmost honesty, he has always been my north star. What I learnt from him was how to create a safe space for mentees so they can grow or transition in a less overwhelming way. I learnt from him to celebrate each win, irrespective of how marginal – this has helped me keep my team motivated and focused on their goals.”

– Porus Doctor, CEO Rest of Africa

“I’ve had the benefit of many mentors. Before joining the business, I would sit in on conversations hosted by the Family Business Network, and from time to time, my father would host dialogues at home. He was – and continues to be – my most consistent mentor, both personally and professionally. Mr Mohan gave me an essential understanding of our family, its history, our philanthropic ambitions, and many nuggets of wisdom to challenge my perspectives. From Divya Patel, our Chief Operating Officer at Ishk, I deepened my understanding of the impact sector, and how to grow and manage a team. Now Navin is helping me understand the business, its people and culture, and challenging me to take more risks and expand my reach.”

– Sumitra Aswani, Head of Purpose & Sustainability

“Haresh, Sajen, Deepak and Navin have acted as my mentors. They have taught me to be bold in decision-making, to speak my mind, and to act quickly rather than overthink issues related to our business. Agility has been emphasised time and again, while always keeping track of possible risks and pitfalls. It is a fine art to balance quick decision making with making sure things are done in the ‘right way’ but what I have generally been taught is that it’s okay to make mistakes, it’s what makes us grow. With this constant encouragement I am no longer afraid to take bold steps, knowing that mistakes will only make me a better leader and a stronger person.”

– Kunal Adnani, CSO Insurtech

Haresh and Deepak

Mohan (left) and Vishu (right)

“Sajen and I still find time to chat every day, whether for 10 minutes or two hours. When we chat, we learn from each other and figure out how to move things forward. Even if we implement things differently, philosophically we are similar. ”

– Mohan Vaswani, Chairman

“I have learnt humility from our Chairman, business strategy from Prem, about Nigeria and culture from Haresh, the importance of governance from Sajen, and genuine care for people from Deepak. They’ve all played big roles in shaping my knowledge, preparing me for my roles in the business, and helping me grow both personally and professionally.”

– Pawan Sharma, CEO Consumer Business (Africa)

“Mr Mohan and Uncle Raj were among my earliest mentors. Growing up, I wanted to join the military and provide humanitarian aid to people in combat zones. However, Mr Mohan put it to me that I could make a bigger difference by joining the business. ‘Have God in your heart and use your pockets to bless others,’ he would say. His wisdom constantly inspires me. Uncle Raj provided me with practical advice, encouraging me to have confidence in my business ideas, not be afraid of disappointing others, and to go wherever I would be at my best.”

– Daniel Bedi, Investment Analyst, Maitri

Daniel and his grandfather, Mohan

Prem and Pawan

“Mr Sajen was my mentor. He has taught me a lot about business and life. One quote that has stuck with me is that ‘When things get hard, don’t ask for them to get easier. Learn how to get better, then nothing will be difficult anymore’.”

– Rohit Nanwani, Former Business Development Executive

“My journey with Tolaram started way back in 1990, in a Nigerian warehouse. The hands-on experience I’ve gained since then on all the different aspects of running a business has been invaluable. Sajen guided me in both the personal and professional spheres, and my colleagues willingly shared their knowledge and experience. I am still in Nigeria today, heading procurement at of one of our units, still learning, and proud to be a Tolaram ‘lifer’.”

– Lakhi Aswani, Procurement Manager

Lakhi Aswani

Sajen and the leadership team in Miami, 2018

“We use the Brundtland Report’s definition of ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’xvii to lay the ground for a basic understanding,” says Sumitra, who led the sustainability team. “If we are making decisions that take away from the future success of the business or the future success of our communities, then it’s unsustainable –the two are interdependent.”

The team’s findings led to the formation of Tolaram’s sustainability vision in June 2021: Tolaram is a purpose-driven enterprise that creates shared value by prioritising social and environmental well-being alongside economic success, underpinned by sound governance and ethics.

To understand where the organisation stood, it conducted a “deep dive”, first with the leadership, and then organisationally, to assess where sustainability would fit with how things were being run. In early 2022, a baseline survey was circulated to all Tolaram business units globally to gather information on existing policies and practices. This was followed by materiality assessments, and the data collected will be used to guide each business unit in setting its priorities.

“In order to be successful on this sustainability journey, we need to create a paradigm shift,” says Sumitra. “It’s not going to be business as usual with a side of sustainability. It will be integral to how we operate, how we hire, how we promote, and what success looks like for this organisation. It will guide our decisionmaking in the same way our values do. That’s the vision.”

This is not the first time Tolaram’s leadership has set out to transform the organisation.

Tolaram has reinvented itself from the time Khanchand handed the business to Mohan, and Tolaram expanded beyond retail and textiles. Moving to Singapore provided a springboard for expansion, and going into Africa and investing in manufacturing changed its trajectory once again. Now, it is training its focus on the future, ensuring that decisions made today lead to greater sustainability and inclusiveness.

On the ground, Tolaram has invested in training courses across all levels, from its C-suite to business and department heads, and sustainability leads. “What we want is for everyone to speak the same language and have the same understanding of what sustainability means for the business,” says Sumitra. By the end of 2022, some 70 to 75 Tolaram employees had attended the eightweek Sustainability Management for Business course at the University of Cambridge.

“We’re learning and doing at the same time,” says Sumitra. “And we’re mentoring others in the team to do the same.”

Nurturing the next generation

From its earliest days, mentoring has been a core element of Tolaram’s culture.

“You cannot have a mindset or values that last without transmitting it downwards. By investing in our people, we ensure the continuity of the organisation,” says Sajen. “At every point of our history, there have been great mentors imparting our ethos and our values, right from my grandfather to his son, and from my uncles to our generation. When the business expanded and we hired professionals, they refined this mentoring culture, and later on, mentees became mentors.”

The building blocks of responsible stewardship are passed on to new employees in conversations and opportunities, where they are given the chance to take the lead and assume accountability for their ideas and decisions – even when the outcomes are not ideal. It’s the difference between entrustment and delegation, says Navin.

“We are preparing them to be leaders – and responsible leaders – by giving them autonomy and assuming they will make the right decisions based on the facts in hand at the time. Entrustment is empowering,” he says.

“We discuss ideas with each other, but at some point, a decision needs to be made. Our approach is that sometimes it is my input, their decision, and sometimes it is their input, my decision. We avoid scenarios where it is our input, our decision, or where everyone is collectively responsible. Someone has to take ownership. But once a decision is made, we all work together to make it successful.”

– Deepak

The approach draws a clear distinction between managing and leading, he says. “The role of a leader is to help facilitate the work of the people who are actually doing the job, to be a cheerleader and a guide, so that the people you lead can ultimately achieve success,” he explains.

In that same spirit, both Mohan and Vishu remain available as mentors and advisors to many.

“We continue to support them and they know how we hope to see the company grow,” says Mohan. “We discuss their ideas, and share with them perspectives that can only come from experience.” Both continue to contribute to Tolaram’s initiatives and interests. Mohan remains deeply involved in Ishk Tolaram Foundation, and his work and travel with the Rotary Club tune him into social needs that the Foundation can follow up on. Vishu’s still-sharp entrepreneurial instinct makes him the go-to person to sound out ideas.

“Seventy-five years of institutional learning has been passed down from mentors,” says Sajen. “It is a part of equipping the next generation of leaders to continue to lead with purpose. As we move forward, we continue to draw on the lessons of the past.”

Tolaram has come a long way from the 4m by 4m textile store in Malang. From one man and his family, it is today an organisation of 20,000 people and their families. The weave of its fabric, however, remains unchanged –to create possibilities, for generations.

“Through the ups and downs, we have always sought to add value, make a difference, and move forward, collectively. Each generation has proven that they can achieve this – even when the odds are stacked against them,” says Sajen.

“This is the foundation the pioneering generations have created. And it is on this story that the next generation will now build.”

AFTERWORD

Thank you for bearing witness to our 75-year history, as experienced by the many who have journeyed with us over the years. Every individual who has been part of that journey – for however long – has contributed to the richness of our shared past, and to the fabric of what Tolaram is today.

As we reflect on each milestone, we realise that two critical things have remained steadfast through the decades, regardless of geography or industry. First, our values have remained our compass, guiding decision-making through turbulence and peace, success and failure. Second,

people have remained the heartbeat of our business, and the most important factor in our continued growth.

These two constants have seen us through the toughest of times, and driven Tolaram’s evolution over both space and time.

With each challenge, we have become better at adapting and innovating, and as we face new ones, we rise up to meet them, finding solutions and ways to create value. This has never been more important than now, as the world comes up against some of humanity’s and our planet’s most pressing problems.

As entrepreneurs, we can lead the way in adopting responsible business practices, and by making sustainability core to how we operate.

This has been the way since Mr Khanchand started the company in Malang – Tailor Tolaram benefited not just the family, but an entire ecosystem. We have continued in this tradition and have all been the better for it.

Indeed, it was this very spirit that gave shape to our purpose statement: Creating Possibilities, For Generations. It keeps us focused on who we are, and why we are

here. Defining our purpose is an important step towards charting a future in which we can confidently say that Tolaram doing its part in creating a better world, now, and for generations to come.

It has taken every single one of us, working collectively, to get Tolaram to where it is today. It will also take all of us working cohesively to grow from here, driven by a shared purpose.

To all who have come this far with us, thank you. We look forward to building an even better future alongside you.

ENDNOTES

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iii. Markovits, Claude. “The Global World of Indian Merchants, 1750- 1947: Traders of Sind from Bukhara to Panama.” Cambridge [England], New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

iv. Retis, Jessica, and Roza Tsagarousianou. “The Handbook of Diasporas, Media, and Culture.” Wiley Blackwell, 2021.

v. Touwen, Jeroen. “The Economic History of Indonesia.” EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples, 16 Mar 2008, http://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-economic-history-of-indonesia/.

vi. Zahroh, Nikmatuz, et al. “Religious Tolerance in Malang City: Overview of Mature Religious.” Science and Technology Publications. SCITEPRESS, 2020, www.scitepress.org/Papers/2018/99161/99161.pdf.

vii. “A Brief History of Singapore.” GuideMeSingapore, Hawksford, https://www.guidemesingapore.com/business-guides/immigration/get-to-knowsingapore/a-brief-history-of-singapore.

viii. Kidwai, Rasheed. “The Singaporean Who Took Indira Gandhi to Court.” Observer Research Foundation, ORF, 23 Jul 2019, https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/thesingaporean-who-took-indira-gandhi-to-court-53298/.

ix. Odubogun, Kassey. “Institutional Reforms and the Management of Exchange Rate Policy Rate in Nigeria.” African Economic Research Consortium, AERC, https://aercafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/RP36.pdf.

x. Wargadiredja, Arzia Tivany. “How Indomie Became Insanely Popular in Nigeria.” VICE, VICE Media Group, 24 Apr 2017, https://www.vice.com/en/article/3d9p5y/howindomie-became-insanely-popular-in-nigeria.

xi. Orimisan, Bankole. “Superbrands Unveils Top Ten Brands in Nigeria.” The Guardian Nigeria News, The Guardian, 16 Nov 2021, https://guardian.ng/business-services/ superbrands-unveils-top-ten-brands-in-nigeria/.

xii. Adeniran, Adedeji Peter. “Nigeria Is out of Recession but Not out of the Woods Yet.” Africa Portal, South African Institute of International Affairs, 14 Sep 2017, https://www.africaportal.org/features/nigeria-out-recession-not-out-woods-yet/.

xiii. Nellis, John. “Finding Real Owners—Lessons from Estonia’s Privatization Program.” World Bank, Public Policy for the Private Sector, Jan 1996, https://documents. worldbank.org/curated/en/288311468744335117/pdf/16925-Replacment-file066NELLI.pdf.

xiv. “5 Most Northern Capitals of the World Fascinating and Different.” Special Travel International, Special Travel International, https://www.sticanada.com/blog/5-mostnorthern-capitals-of-the-world-fascinating-and-different.

xv. Bondarenko, Peter. “5 Of the World’s Most Devastating Financial Crises.” Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/list/5-of-the-worldsmost-devastating-financial-crises.

xvi. PT Bank Amar Indonesia Tbk. “Amar Bank awarded Innovative Tech Companies of the Year award at the ACES Awards 2021.” Press Release. PR Newswire, 19 Nov 2021, https://en.prnasia.com/releases/apac/amar-bank-awarded-innovative-techcompanies-of-the-year-award-at-the-aces-awards-2021-341942.shtml.

xvii. Global Cooperation Must Adapt to Meet Biggest Threat since Second World War, Secretary-General Says on International Day, as COVID-19 Transcends Borders.” Press Release. United Nations, 23 Apr 2020, https://press.un.org/en/2020/ sgsm20058.doc.htm.