DUBAI, 14 October 2006 — Emke Group is all set to enter the Saudi market by the beginning of next year with projects in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Alkhobar, says its managing director, Yusuffali M.A., who is widely acclaimed as the unofficial ambassador of India to the Middle East and ranks among the top NRI (Non-Resident Indians) business personalities around the world.
“Presently our annual turnover is $1.2 billion. Our Saudi plans are in place and soon we will be coming out with new projects in other parts of Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Yusuffali hails from Thrissur in India’s Kerala state and is based in Abu Dhabi. Yusuffali has companies in the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Yemen, Kuwait, Kenya, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Tanzania, Benin and India. Emke Group employs more than 15,000 people, including 9,400 Indians nationals at home and abroad.
“The ultimate achievement for me is the fact that I have been able to generate employment for more than 15,000, which in turn takes care of equal number of families in different parts of the world,” said Yusuffali. “I honestly think it’s the prayers and good wishes of all these families that guide me through the ups and downs in whatever activity I do.”
His business group has achieved significant growth and has diversified interests, including shopping malls, hypermarkets, grocery store chains and department stores. Emke Group is also strong in imports and exports, distribution, apparel manufacturing, food processing, IT education and holdings in the tourism and leisure industry.
“The group was started by my uncle M.K. Abdullah in 1966 and I joined him in 1973,” he said. “At that time we were dealing in import and wholesale trading of frozen food stuff and related products.”
Under Yusuffali’s direction, the company diversified into the retail sector, opening its first supermarket in Abu Dhabi. The key to his success has been expanding into areas where competitors were afraid to go. “The Gulf War was the turning point in my business career,” he said. “When most investors and residents were apprehensive of the prevailing market scenario, I went ahead and invested in more supermarkets and department stores.”
The strategy paid off: Today Emke has 55 supermarkets and is moving forward into the development of shopping malls, the first three of which will open in Abu Dhabi next year. More malls are in the pipeline for Muscat, Doha, Kuwait, Dubai, Bahrain, India and Saudi Arabia.
Yussufali, a father of three daughters (two of whom are married) who lives with his wife in Abu Dhabi, always strives to bring in foreign investments and expertise to India, especially to Kerala. He helped found Cochin International Airport and sits on the airport’s board of directors. He is also a director of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation; an executive member of Norka (Non-Resident Keralite Affairs) and a director of Roots, the state’s non-resident Keralite development initiative; and a former member of the Indian government’s Central Wakf Council.
His proximity with government authorities in the Gulf Cooperation Council member states (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia) has contributed to strengthening bilateral ties between India and the Gulf region.
Yusuffali also plays a vital role in advocating on behalf of NRIs. His efforts have helped in securing cremation grounds for Hindu brethren in the Gulf. He has been able to arrange free land for the Christian community to construct churches in the UAE. “As a true practitioner of Islam, I strongly believe in Zakah,” he says. “At the same time I do my bit for other religious, educational and charitable organizations.”
He is a director and board member of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industries and vice chairman of the organization’s Trade Committee. Back in his native soil of Kerala, Yussufali is chairman of Lakeshore Hospital in Cochin, one of the most modern super specialty hospitals in Kerala.
Yussufali is an active participant in the education of Keralites back home (as the chairman of the Muslim Education Society Medical College in Kerala) and Indian expatriates in the Gulf region, where he is vice chairman of the Abu Dhabi Indian School; patron of Al-Noor Indian School in Abu Dhabi; and chief patron of Indian Islamic Centers throughout the Emirates. As a founding member of the Indian Business-Professional Group in the UAE and the Indian Business & Professional Council in Dubai, Yussufali takes his efforts to educate and develop Indian business acumen beyond formal education directly into the world of business. But in spite of his obvious deep interest in trade and developing Indian talent worldwide, he says his favorite hobby is sitting down with a good book.
“It’s the only hobby one can pursue while flying or traveling,” he says. “And it is the only peaceful time we get nowadays in this busy and calculated life we lead.”
The Trophy Case of Yusuffali
The CEO of Emke Group Yusuffali M.A. could probably use a 25-hour day and an eight-day week, considering his many interests. In 2005, his hard work on behalf of his business interests and the development of Indian education, health and employment at home and abroad earned him India’s prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, the highest honor bestowed to civilians working in the interest of NRIs by the Indian government. He has also been honored with the Sri Chithira Thirunal Maharaja Award for 2002, the Outstanding Global Non-Resident Indian Award for 2001, the Indian Millennium Award in 2000 for the Best NRI Businessman from Kerala, the P.V. Sami Memorial Award 2006, and the Indian Commerce Ministry’s Best Exporter’s Award for 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2005. He also won the gold trophy from the Synthetic and Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council and the Best Exporter Award from the Indian Textile Ministry.
