City businessman says Vidhu Shah had passion for uplifting small businesses

City businessman and politician Johnstone Oduk has described the late Vidhu Shah as an established and committed businessman who did not only care about the big players in the business sector, noting that as a businessman, Shah always insisted on the need to promote small establishments into big business ventures.

The 86-year old Vidhu Shah died on Tuesday evening while receiving treatment at a Nairobi hospital.

Mr Oduk,who has enjoyed a close working relationship with the family of Vidhu Shah said that the late had great entreneaurhip skills and will forever be a mentor to many.

“He was always a true friend who would always want to see those around him grow economically by expanding their business networks,” Oduk said.

He revealed that the fallen business guru introduced him to many friends outside Kenya and this helped him get more business deals for his advertisement firm.

The 86-year-old businessman owned, among other investments, the Sarit Center in Westlands, Nairobi and is also known for advocating for more involvement of youths in entrepreneurship.

President Uhuru Kenyatta in his message of condolence to the family described the late Shah, popularly known as Bachubhai, as one of Kenya’s finest and visionary entrepreneurs whose business acumen contributed greatly to the country’s economy.

“Mzee Bachubhai was a true patriot and a nationalist who created job opportunities for many Kenyans through his entrepreneurial exploits. He strongly and truly believed, and lived the Kenyan dream of hard work, determination and success,” Uhuru said.

He continued, “His entrepreneurial spirit saw him establish Sarit Centre, Kenya’s first shopping mall in the 1980s when nobody else thought about it. He did not stop at that but moved on to establish several other successful businesses including Text Book Centre which has continued to quench Kenyans thirsty for knowledge.”

The Head of State mourned the late Bachubhai as a determined philanthropist who teamed up with other well-wishers to set up Cancer Care Kenya, an initiative that supports Government’s efforts to provide affordable cancer treatment in the country.