Yousaf Ali gets
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award and only recipient
from the Middle East
MUSCAT, Jan 05, 2004
NRIpress
Yousaf Ali M.A., prominent NRI businessman and managing director
of Emke Group, has been selected for Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
Award in recognition of his meritorious service and contribution
to India, its people and the NRIs
The award was announced on behalf of the government of India
by Jagdish Tytler, minister for overseas Indian affairs.
Yousaf Ali is the first UAE resident to receive this coveted
award, the highest from the Indian government, and this year he
is the only recipient from the Middle East. The president of India
is the patron for this award and a jury consisting of Indias
cabinet ministers and senior government officials headed by the
vice-president of India considered him for this award. By selecting
him for this award, the government of India has recognised Yousaf
Ali as a distinguished NRI and his philanthropic efforts and devotion
to the cause of humanity have been honoured.
The award, equivalent to the highest civilian award of the Indian
government, will be presented on Non-Resident Indian Day tomorrow
and Yousaf Ali will receive the award from Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam,
president of India. The award which carries a citation and a gold
medal is instituted to recognise and reward the meritorious contribution
in political, economic/social/ academic and cultural fields.
Emke Group, of which Yousaf Ali is the managing director, is
best known in the Gulf through a chain of popular hypermarkets,
supermarkets and department stores, which serve the widest segments
of multi-ethnic residents in the region. Foremost among them is
the Lulu chain of outlets followed by Al Falah Plaza and Emirates
General Market.
Yousaf Ali took charge as Managing Director and immediately set
about implementing his pet habit of risk taking, he took one such
at the peak of the Gulf War when he decided to go ahead and launch
the concept of supermarket. To this he says "Everyone was
hesitant to invest those days, and it was a big risk to build
on a new concept, and a message lies herein, his life's message
- You have to take risks at some point of your life. Without risks
there is no success. It is like driving a car. If you think of
all those big trailers, the speeding vehicles, and that old man
trying to cross the street, you will never be able to drive."
He approached his task with a blend of risk taking and firm determination
to go ahead with the same, grasping fully the intricacies of business,
he judged correctly that the source of his firms strength
were the middle-class, Asians and Arabs, and was shrewd enough
to provide the best value and price to the customers. He let go
the practice of having middlemen, bulk buying and opening their
own manufacturing units. And instead adopted a system of direct
approach to customers, he takes a lot of pride in his accessibility
and says that any staff member or customer can come to me without
an appointment and our group has a team of loyal staff who have
been with us since inception.
Yousuf Ali is a member of Central Wakf Council of the government
of India and the chairman of MES Medical College. Besides being
one of the directors of Cochin International Airport Limited and
the vice-chairman of Roots-NRK Development Initiative, he is also
the chairman of Lakeshore Hospital & Research Centre, a super
specialty hospital in Kochi, Kerala.
Today the man sits on the top of a pile, which has made inroads
into many new areas and made a success in each and every area
ventured into. No wonder he is referred to as a man with he Midas
touch. He says he simply does business and business he does but
what a kind of business, simply fantastic, he takes his chances
and converts them into golden opportunities, which ultimately
turns into gold itself. Just take a look at his range of businesses
->> the Emirates General Market (where the fortunes of the
group started), EMKE Stores, Al Mushref Co-operative Society,
Lulu Center, Lulu Supermarket, Al Falah Plaza, Asif Jewellery,
Childhood 0-12, and City Center. His reach goes from the UAE's
capital city of Abu Dhabi to Dubai, Al Ain, Sharjah, Oman and
Qatar. The wholesale divisions that complement the operations
of the retail outlets are even more impressive: Al Tayeb Cold
Stores for frozen foods, Al Tayeb Meat Establishment for exports
and chilled meat, EMKE Stores for consumer goods, and EMKE General
Trading for foodstuffs. This is not the end, still more to come,
they are Gulf Star Garments Est. for garment manufacture, System
Computer Est and Syscoms Computer Information Technology for computer
education, and Huda Shipping International for shipping.
Mind it all of these, and then you have the international divisions:
Fair Exports (India) with offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Cochin,
EMKE Establishments Bangalore, EMKE Garments Kenya Ltd, EMKE Commodities
Kenya Ltd, Y Tex Fashions in Barcelona, Spain, P T E K Prima Ekspor
in Indonesia, EK Prima Exports in Thailand, EMKE Tanzania Ltd,
and EMKE Prima Exports Hong Kong Ltd. Reads like a yellow pages
directory
simply fantastic. And even more fantastic is the
mans utter simplicity and humility, which makes one wonder,
is he the same person who owns this vast cartel of wealth.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Yousuf is now spearheading the
business of the millennium - the Lulu Hypermarket in Dubai, built
at a cost of Dhs 120 million - and extending the concept to all
the GCC countries. He says with a perfect clarity of thought -
The business of the future will be centered on large shopping
complexes. Small outlets will wind up operations unless they conglomerate
to form larger entities-. He further reveals his groups
philosophy, it took off with supermarkets and departmental stores
and now moved onto a larger but integrated concept termed as hypermarket
and this concept is a logical step into the future. He also recognizes
the importance and significance of information technology, his
group started Syscoms. It is today one of the leading consultants
for computer solutions, with an array of activities ranging from
education, vocational training, overseas software projects, and
Internet and Intranet solutions, among others. His group has also
ventured into the textiles, garments and foodstuffs and you have
the establishment of a food-processing unit in the UAE.
He has also given something back to his native land, is an ex-director
on the Board of Air India and Indian Airlines Ltd, is the man
who spearheaded the Cochin International Airport Limited in Nedumbassery,
the first airport built by a public limited company (with 51 per
cent share held by the Government of Kerala), the Dhs 325 million
project seemed to be a non-starter from day one. He took the plunge
when the then Chief Minister Mr K Karunakaran asked him to lend
his support and this he did. He went on to become the chairman
of the fund-raising committee for the UAE and managed to garner
enough funds to built a truly world class airport. Awards have
dime a dozen for this man, a recipient of the India International
Award from the Government of India for outstanding contribution
as an NRI exporter plus he has won exporter awards from the governments
of Kenya and Spain as well. He was selected International Businessman
of the year 1996 by Deepika, the first Malayalam daily. More recently,
Yousaf Ali bagged the millennium award for the best NRI businessman
from Kerala, and the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council Award
for meritorious performance. He is a founder member of the Indian
Business/Professional Group, Abu Dhabi, and member of the Indian
Business Council, Yousaf Ali is an active participant at business
meetings and has numerous social responsibilities too such as
Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Abu Dhabi Indian
School, he is also on the board of the Al Noor Indian School in
Abu Dhabi.
He is described as a perfect family man, married to Shabira and
has three daughters, Shabeena, Shafeena and Shifa., an intensely
private individual, a devout Muslim who undertakes Haj since a
decade without fail. He floors one with his simplicity. His corporate
office in Abu Dhabi does not have the elaborate markings of a
success story written on its walls. Furnished with the bare necessities,
it is a beehive of activity when Yousaf Ali is around. Many visitors
come for help, and others for advice. His mail will essentially
have a plethora of letters seeking help - for jobs or financial
aid. And then there are the recommendation letters from ministers
to ex-MLAs. "In the UAE alone, the EMKE Group has over 7,000
employees, and worldwide, the figure is 10,600. At the end of
the day, the feeling that you are helping these many families
is encouraging, motivating and keeps you moving," smiles
Yousaf Ali. And attributes his group's success to hard work and
the Almighty's blessings.
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award is instituted by the government
of India to recognise and reward the meritorious contributions
made by NRIs in the furtherance of national interest and causes.
Yousuf Ali has deserved the award with his selfless efforts towards
promoting secularism and communal harmony, assistance rendered
to the needy during calamities, contribution towards progress
in the educational, cultural and healthcare activities.