Family ties
mixed with fresh fruit on an island in the sun
Golden
beaches and grand hotels can all be found in Mauritius, but there is much more
to this island paradise. The country, located some 500 miles east of
Madagascar, has been attracting global investors for decades. But there is also
a healthy local appetite for business development -- one of the many reasons
the country has been hailed as an African success story. One company
demonstrating this entrepreneurial drive is fresh food suppliers SKC Surat. "My
father Sooklall Surat, started as a farmer with one hectare of land," says
Suren Surat, who is now CEO of the company his father founded sixty years ago.
"The land was next to our house, where we lived. My father was the first
grower at that time, the pioneer for growing strawberries and artichokes in
Mauritius." Suren Surat has been part of the company from the beginning.
The family had enough offspring to start a cricket squad, but the team
dedicated its efforts towards business success.
As a kid, Surat would get up early to help his father on the small farm
before going to school. "Whatever
he was growing, people were coming to buy in our garden, wholesale...So my
father decided to go retail," Surat remembers.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005971.html
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