MILAD MILLET & FAMILY

$620 Million

PRINTEX GHANA LIMITED

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Wealth: SELF MADE, TEXTILES

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Known For: PRINTEX, AQUAFRESH

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OVERVIEW

Milad, a Ghanaian of Lebanese descent founded Millet Textile Corporation Limited in 1958. The company was originally established to manufacture towels. In the early 1980s, the firm changed its name to Spintex Limited and it developed into an integrated textile firm that manufactured high-quality textiles for the Ghanaian and wider African market.  Spintex, however, faced severe competition as a result of the influx of imported used clothing onto the Ghanaian market. This was as a result of the liberalization of the Ghanaian economy under the Structural Adjustment Reform Programme of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which resulted in the abolition of import restrictions. Locally produced textiles could not compete with low-priced used clothing. The name of the company was subsequently changed to Printex in 1997.

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NET WORTH SUMMARY

Printex exports its fine print fabric products to Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Niger, Angola, South Africa and Zambia. Presently, Printex operates at only 60% of full capacity as a result of the influx of cheap (and pirated) imports. The company offers over 20 different ranges of prints.

Aquafresh, another company owned by the family employs about 100 people and was established as a limited liability company in 1994. Aquafresh commenced operation with the introduction of a product called Fruity. Currently the Aquafresh range of drinks are; Kalyppo (apple, fruit mix, orange, citrus, passion, oranpine, pineapple,guava and strawberry flavours), Milko (chocolate flavour), Juicee (cocktail, orange, citrus and pineapple flavours), Fruity (cocktail, orange, citrus punch and pineapple flavours) and Frutelli (cocktail, orange, mango, citrus splash and orange/pineapple flavours).

The company has two modes of marketing: direct sales to bulk buyers and selling via its 100 distributors across the country. Aquafresh exports 15–20% of output to Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Mali, Niger, Ivory Coast and Senegal. With the exception of Senegal, where the products are exported by sea freight, delivery is by road transport.

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Visibility Ratings: B