By Sujan Tiwari



Life always has equal share of success and failure, one should never forget his roots when he is on top of success and one shouldn’t let the fire inside him die out when faced by failure, says Sumit Kedia a young business person, rephrasing what he learnt from his uncle Shankar Lal Kedia.Sumit Kedia, the Executive Director of Kedia Group and the Director of Sita Ram Gokul Milks Ktm Ltd, vividly remembers the time when his company was deep in debt and was on the verge of being sold out. “Those were the most stressful times of my life. The Bank had no trust upon us, and the entire Group was about to be blacklisted,” recalls Kedia. It all happened immediately after he joined the company after completing his studies.

Making first moves

New to the business and the entire business scenario of Nepal back then, Kedia says he was overwhelmed by the situation at first. Gradually, he with the help of the Group was able to convince the banks to give some leverage to the company. One of the banks agreed to swap the loan and with some arrangement, he was able to pay off the entire loan after some time.

On the management part, he made the backward linkage strong by directly interacting with the farmers and thus, creating an economic interdependence. This, in turn, improved the quality and quantity of the raw material. “I personally met the farmers; I went to cow sheds and educated them. As a result, we received better quality raw material and enjoyed more security than our competitors,” explains Kedia. He also introduced new technology and updated the equipments used in the factory. This significantly enhanced the efficiency and the cost of production went down as well.

Carving a niche

All of Kedia’s efforts have finally paid off. Today, Sita Ram Gokul Milks, a sister concern of Kedia Group is nation’s leading dairy processor and distributor, with production capacity of more than 2.86 million gallons of milk per year. The company has completed the journey of 17 years, and operates through a highly advanced technological plant with latest machineries producing milk and dairy products like milk, ghee and butter. The company is all set to produce flavoured milk and paneer within the next month.

Kedia firmly believes that responsibility with accountability is the mantra to success. “Nothing can be achieved alone, but a responsible and accountable team working for a common goal can achieve almost anything,” says Kedia. Kedia has been taking care of Sita Ram Gokul Milks for the last 10 years.


Memory lane

Born to Bishwa Nath Kedia and Krishna Devi Kedia in Birgunj in 1976, Kedia did his entire schooling and higher education in India. During his school years, he was a hostel student in Darjeeling and Mussoorie. He completed his high school in Delhi and graduated from DAV College in Chandigadh, and completed his post graduation in MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management of Pune.

As a child, most of his time was spent in hostel. “I used to come home only for holidays, so found it hard to adjust with my family. I was more comfortable with my friends than with my family,” recalls Kedia. He was home only for a few months in a year and also was oblivious of the development of the family group, Kedia Group.
After completing his education, he returned home and all of a sudden he was in family atmosphere that he wasn’t much used to, and also was into business abruptly. “I really found it hard to manage the three major parts of my life, my friends circle, my family and my business. But today, I have balanced all three aspects of my life,” says Kedia. As he became more involved with family and business, his friends circle shrunk. Today, Kedia says family and business are his top priority.

Married for 10 years with Ritu Kedia, Kedia is a father of a son and a daughter, Rachit Kedia and Shristi Kedia. His marriage was an arranged one and he didn’t even know her wife very well before marriage. “We were given just half an hour to discuss and decide. Within that short time, I fell in love with her eyes, and I immediately said yes. I’m happy I made the right decision,” shared Kedia.


Social involvement

Kedia is involved with Round Table Nepal, an international fraternity with both business and family gatherings. “In this fraternity, there are people from business community and also their families. This has given me friends for life, with same wavelength. We go on various outings and picnics through the fraternity,” says Kedia. He usually spends his evenings and weekends with the friends of the fraternity, but still feels there is nothing like childhood friends. Kedia is also the First Vice President of Nepal Dairy Association and has been the Director of National Dairy Development Board for two tenures.

Finding inner peace

As a student, Kedia loved to play basketball and was also in the college team. “I’d still love to play now, but my business doesn’t really allow me to do that anymore. However, after a stressful day, I like to give some time only to myself,” says he. He is a member of health club in Radisson hotel, loves swimming sauna and steam, and does cardio exercises. Kedia says he isn’t much into books, watches movies at times, doesn’t really care about gadgets. “I’m a simple person with simple desires; I want to lead a simple and modest life. I don’t believe in showing off and pretence. Kedia travels for work and leisure, but thinks he needs to take more vacations “I need to improve this part of my life. I don’t take many vacations. I’m trying to do it this year, may be ill go to Switzerland this year with my family,” says Kedia.

Changed dream

Growing up, Kedia had dreams of being in hospitality and tourism business. He dreamt of owning a hotel as a graduate student and he even applied to study Hotel Management in Switzerland after graduating, but says it didn’t work out. Life had other plans for him. “As a member of a huge joint family, family’s dreams and decision always meant more than that of a member. Family’s decision mattered more to me, and I was needed in the group. So, I gave up my dream for my family,” shared Kedia.


Experience speaks

Introvert by nature, Kedia says he is a shy guy. Once he was invited as a chief guest at a co-operative’s AGM. He had to give a speech in public, but he became very nervous and he completely blacked out. “I don’t even remember what I said there. With time, I improved my public speaking skills and I have no problem with that today,” says Kedia.

Kedia sees Vinod Chaudhary is his idol, and says his struggle and success has always been an inspiration to him. Kedia had family relations with Chaudhary, and personally knew him as he is also a member of Young Entrepreneur Forum (YEF) under Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). He also sees Shankar Lal Kedia, his uncle as idol within his family.

Kedia opines that capital should stay within the country, regardless of the challenges faced by businessmen and entrepreneurs. According to him, rather than criticising the government and society, one should maintain a positive mentality and enhance the economy with a combined team spirit. He also feels that the spirit of ‘us’ is needed for development of a family, an organisation and an entire nation.

Foreseeable future

As for his future plans, Kedia is not in investment mode now, as he feels there is no stability in the country. He thinks at such a point, it’s wise to retain what he has. New ventures may be started only after the problem of labour and load shedding are over.

Kedia says he loves his profession, and work is his worship. He feels that he needs to do something for the company till he retires. “I work together with all my staffs, all my team, not just my personal growth, but also for their growth, I like to see through the perspective of ‘us’ rather than ‘me’. I like to create a win-win situation for all,” says Kedia.

Kedia says that if all goes well, he may also be involved in the hospitality business. “After all, fulfilments of inner desires give you true satisfaction. It was always my dream to be in the sector. Let’s see what future has in store,” Kedia is optimistic.