Consumer Products

Kakira Sweets & Confectionery

A small specialised unit (with a production capacity of 2,400 tons pa) attached to the Kakira complex to produce mainly hard boiled sweets. The unit is currently in the middle of a major investment programme with the installation of new production lines and refurbishment of the factory.

The unit is re-launching all current brands and introducing 5 new brands with high quality design/ packaging to international standards. The product range includes hard-boiled sweets and lollipops (Jolli Lolli, Ice Green, Honey’n’Butter Drops and Fun Pops to name a few of the brands), fruit drops and compressed sugar tablets.

The company is also looking to introduce new products over the medium-term which will result in further investment in Uganda.

Makepasi Match Ltd.

The Madhvani Group started production of safety matches in Uganda in 1963 in Jinja. The matches which were produced prior to 1972 were made of wood – not only the matchsticks but the entire matchbox itself.

Environmental concerns and a shortage of local timber necessitated a major evolution in the matchbox industry. In 2007 a new joint venture company was formed named Makepasi Match Ltd. Makepasi is the largest producer of wax coated paper matches in East Africa and will eventually employ over 400 people. It is very rare in the global wax match sector to have large scale operations under one roof; this has now been successfully achieved at Makepasi. The present installed capacity of the unit is enough to cater for the Ugandan market which is estimated to be over 300 million matchboxes per annum and expansion plans are already underway.

In the new venture the joint strengths of each of the respective shareholders are utilized: the Madhvani Group is responsible for management of the unit, the Keshwala group is the leading distributor of wax matches in the East African region and the Paulsamyi group is a leading supplier of machinery and raw materials within the industry.

The unit is committed to producing the best quality and most cost effective matches that it can. For a Quality Flame – Makepasi is the name!