30 Facts About Raj Modi

Rajeshkumar Indukant Modi was born on 4 February 1959 and is a Zimbabwean businessman and politician who is a member-elect of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe for Bulawayo South.

Raj Modi previously served as the MP for the constituency and as deputy minister of industry and commerce and from 2018 until 2023.

Raj Modi was seen as an ally of Emmerson Mnangagwa amid the factional infighting within the party leading up to the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'etat.

Raj Modi's appointment made him the first person of Indian origin MP in Zimbabwe and the only person of Indian origin government minister in Africa outside South Africa.

Raj Modi was defeated as a Member of Parliament by Nicola Watson of the Citizens Coalition for Change at the 2023 general election and was not reappointed to cabinet.

Rajeshkumar Indukant Modi was born on 4 February 1959 in Rajpipla, Gujarat, in western India.

Raj Modi came from a middle-class family that sometimes struggled financially.

Raj Modi went on to study at South Gujarat University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1981.

In March 1981, shortly after graduating, Raj Modi married Parul Kothari, who was born in India and moved to Southern Rhodesia as a teenager in 1975.

Raj Modi described his first six months in Zimbabwe as difficult.

Raj Modi would walk to and from work to save up money.

Raj Modi continued working at the supermarket to support the household, while his wife ran the shop and worked a second job to meet the costs of growing the business.

Raj Modi eventually opened twelve supermarkets in total, before selling his company, Sai Enterprises, to Choppies, a Botswana-based multinational grocery retailer, in 2013.

Raj Modi has since opened a number of new supermarkets in Zimbabwe, and owns three others in Australia.

Raj Modi's company Pintail Trading, manufactures its own alcoholic beverages, including whisky, and is a PepsiCo product distributor.

Raj Modi has served as chief executive officer of the Bulawayo and Matabeleland sports and recreation commissions, as a member of the Bulawayo Publicity Association finance committee, and as general manager for Bulawayo of the Zimbabwe Youth Games.

Raj Modi has won dozens of awards for his business and philanthropic activities.

Raj Modi was the party's first winning candidate since 2000 in a Bulawayo parliamentary election not boycotted by the MDC.

Raj Modi's victory was helped by the fact that two candidates, Muvirimi Francis Mangwendeza and Kunashe Muchemwa, ran on the MDC Alliance ticket, splitting the opposition vote.

Raj Modi attributed his victory to his local reputation for philanthropy.

Raj Modi was sworn in to Parliament on 5 September 2018, becoming the first Indian MP in Zimbabwe's history.

Mangaliso Ndlovu, under whom Raj Modi initially served, was succeeded as industry and commerce minister by Sekai Nzenza in November 2019.

In October 2018, Raj Modi was criticized for continuing to sell goods in US dollars rather than Zimbabwean bond notes at his businesses, which was against government policy.

From December 2019 to January 2020, Raj Modi visited India on a month-long trip to attract Gujarati investors to Zimbabwe.

Raj Modi returned with proposals from several potential investors, and a business delegation planning to visit the following month.

Raj Modi was unseated as the MP for Bulawayo South by Nicola Watson of the Citizens Coalition for Change in the 2023 general election.

Raj Modi's father died in 1985 and his mother in 1988, but he still has brothers and sisters in India.

Raj Modi speaks English, Gujarati, Hindi, and a basic level of Ndebele.

Raj Modi prefers wearing casual clothing over suits, and eats in his company's cafeteria.

Raj Modi is a fan of the Highlanders, a Bulawayo football club.