Meghji Pethraj Shah, who grew up in rural India, was a philanthropist who succeeded thanks to hard work.
In 1919, at the age of 15, he made the journey from Jamnagar to Mombasa in Kenya.
His subsequent success in business allowed him to build and support charitable projects in India, East Africa and the UK.
Hospitals, schools, an orphanage and a medical college have been built in his name, both in his lifetime and since.
‘I was always taught from a young age about giving something back,’ Vaishali said. ‘My grandfather died before I was born, but my grandmother passed on those values to me, and my parents certainly did.
‘We’ve seen at first hand the difference that it makes.’
- The Shah family estimate that 35,000 people directly benefit at any given point in time from the institutions they have built.
- More than 10,000 doctors have been trained in medical training institutions funded by the family.
- The current value of donations, land and buildings established is more than $250 million.
Her grandfather believed in the principle of Aparigraha, the concept of limiting possessions to what is needed for the family and putting the rest to better use.
Vaishali is a director of Minerva, a trust and corporate services company which has its headquarters here, and she runs her own two businesses in London: Creative ID, a graphic design and marketing agency (high-profile clients have included the Michelin-star Benares Restaurant, Barclays, Habib Bank, Credit Suisse and Grant Thornton) and Ananya, a wedding and events stationery business.
Creative ID this month celebrated its 15th year in business. ‘Ten per cent of my profits have gone to charity from year one,’ said Vaishali.
The desire to give back, she says, is ‘in my DNA’. She is also pro-women in business, and last week helped to judge a competition run by Jersey College for Girls when four students had to speak on the aspirations of a woman in 21st century society. Minerva, where Vaishali has been working since 2011, joined the JCG Foundation earlier this year.
Born in London, Vaishali lived in Jersey from the ages of four to 14, being educated at St Michael’s School and Jersey College for Girls.
A move to France when her parents separated enabled her to study for her GCSEs at the British School of Paris, and later she completed the International Baccalaureate at the International School of Paris.
She went on to get a first-class joint honours degree in International Management and French, specialising in marketing, at the University of Manchester.
The rich mix of multicultural influences in her education have all played their part on her life, but none more so than her own family, who hail from Gujarat.
Growing up, she would often spend time with the extended family on summer holidays, and she still tries to travel to India every year to visit family who now live in Mumbai.
‘Every summer we would have our holidays there, with our family, connecting to our roots,’ she said. ‘It’s very different from staying in a five-star hotel on a typical traveller’s route.
‘In India, as soon as you get out of the airport, there are people asking for money.
‘You see that poverty and you do want to help, and although you can’t help everyone, we can make a difference.
‘My cousins have a very different life from mine.
‘For them to think – a girl, living on her own, running her own business, unmarried – it’s very different for my cousins of a similar age.’
Referring to the work of her grandfather, Vaishali spoke of the Westgate attacks in Nairobi in September 2013, when gunmen killed 67 people in a four-day siege at a shopping mall.
More than 200 were wounded. The nearest hospital to Westgate is the MP Shah Hospital, built in memory of her grandfather.
‘We dealt with more than 100 patients, and as a hospital we didn’t charge for any treatments,’ she said, adding that she had been due to fly to Nairobi within days. ‘As a family and a business, we also donated.
‘It’s very important that we keep in touch with the establishments that we build.’
It is also important to Vaishali to give back to charities through her work at Minerva, where she is also group head of marketing.
Two years ago the company set up its Legacy project, encouraging staff to donate time and money to charity.
This year, staff have raised thousands of pounds for the two charities that they vote for each year – Autism Jersey and the John Martyn Memorial School in India.
‘I like to think that we do it authentically and in a genuine way, not for PR or CSR, but because we want to do it, and we are fortunate enough to be able to do it,’ Vaishali said. ‘£10,000 converted into rupees really does help.’
Vaishali is also a trustee of the Find Your Feet charity, based in the UK, which works in India and Africa, and is the driving force behind Female Focus, which she describes as a dynamic network for successful businesswomen.
After its London launch in 2013 on International Women’s Day, Female Focus was introduced in Nairobi last year.
‘It was very pioneering,’ she said. ‘There was nothing similar in the way of women-only networks in Kenya.’
When does she think that women will be equal in terms of pay and opportunities?
‘Maybe ten years?’ she said. ‘There have definitely been improvements since I started my business 15 years ago.
‘I would like to think that in ten years we won’t have to keep focusing on these female issues, about getting the same pay and the same opportunities.’
On the day of our interview, she had attended a meeting of the Women’s Development Forum at the Pomme d’Or Hotel.
‘It’s not that we are anti-men, it’s just a way for facilitating relationships,’ she said.
She had recently been at a similar forum where personal branding was discussed.
‘It’s not just for entrepreneurs, it’s not just for celebrities.
‘Even if you work in a company, you need your own personal brand to stand out, you need your employers to know what you’re about.
‘It is probably a different brand from the one we have at home when we’re playing with our kids.’
So what about her own brand? ‘For me, authenticity is important, integrity, hard work, and being fair,’ she said.
‘I enjoy being a woman in business. I’m often aware that at networking events I am the only woman, and the only Asian woman.
‘It can be a little intimidating, especially at first, 15 years ago, when I was out of my comfort zone.
‘But networking is important, and if you have to go out of your comfort zone, well, that’s life.
‘Women need to have confidence, and confidence to take themselves seriously, and they can rise up the ladder.’
For herself, she hasn’t found obstacles being a woman but, that said, she runs her own businesses and she doesn’t have children.
Admitting that she loves programmes like The Apprentice, she says that although the contestants are picked more for entertainment value than anything else, they do nevertheless have to show real skills – for example, being team players, being able to negotiate and meet deadlines.
‘And a lot of them do not lack confidence!’ she said.
Home for Vaishali (43) is Bloomsbury in London, where her own business is based. But she enjoys coming back to Jersey about one week a month, when she stays with her father, Vipin, who is chairman of Minerva, at his home at Bonne Nuit.
Vaishali clearly relishes her busy life. ‘I have not mastered the work-life balance, but I do love it,’ she smiles, admitting that she can be at her desk at 4.30 am.
‘You have to enjoy what you do.
‘I’m blessed with my family. Giving back is in my blood, it’s part of my family’s DNA.
‘I didn’t meet my grandfather, but I like to think I inherited his traits. If he could see me now, I hope he would be proud of me for following my dream, for the passion and drive that motivate me to work hard to reach my goals, and for making contribution to worthy causes an important part of my life.
‘I believe he would recognise that the legacy of his values and beliefs are reflected and kept alive in my actions, and that would make him happy.
‘I aspire to be a little like him, and if I am only one per cent, it would be a great achievement.’
