CIEL, controlled by Mauritius’s wealthy Dalais family, buys a women’s hospital in Uganda

C-Care, the hospital group controlled by Mauritius's Dalais family through its conglomerate CIEL Ltd., has completed the purchase of Roswell Hospital in Kampala, expanding its network in Uganda to six hospitals and 17 clinics.

The deal for the 30-bed hospital in the Ugandan capital's central business district closed on Sept. 8, C-Care said in an announcement on Thursday. The company did not disclose the price or the size of the stake it acquired. Roswell treats more than 30,000 patients a year and specializes in women's health, maternal and child care, gynecology and fertility treatment.

"We are pleased to welcome Roswell Hospital into the C-Care family," said Azhar Sundhoo, chief executive officer of C-Care East Africa. He said the acquisition "strengthens our presence in Kampala and adds to our capabilities in women's health, maternal and child care, and fertility."

Hélène Echevin, chief executive of C-Care International, and Roswell's founder, Malik Ssempebwa, a physician, attended the signing. C-Care said it plans to fold the hospital into its wider network, share resources across its facilities and upgrade Roswell's medical equipment.

A growing Ugandan network

Roswell joins a network built around C-Care IHK, the former International Hospital Kampala, which was the first private hospital in Uganda to perform both open-heart and keyhole surgery. In June, C-Care turned its outpatient center in the northern city of Gulu into a 45-bed inpatient hospital. Its facilities in Mukono and Mbale, east of Kampala, have also been upgraded to full hospitals. The company, which marked 30 years in Uganda this year, has said it plans to expand into Kenya and Rwanda.

In 2015, a consortium of CIEL and India's Fortis bought a 40% stake in International Medical Group, the operator of International Hospital Kampala, from private equity firm Kibo Capital Partners. International Medical Group, founded by doctor Ian Clarke, took the C-Care name in 2022.

The Dalais family has been adding to its hold on the business. In the nine months through March, CIEL raised its stake in C-Care International Ltd. to 74.97% from 66.61%, investing 417 million Mauritian rupees ($9 million), according to its earnings release.

Healthcare has become one of the group's fastest-growing units. Revenue from the healthcare cluster rose 18% to 4.97 billion rupees ($108.2 million) in the nine months, while profit after tax climbed 29% to 426 million rupees ($9.3 million). CIEL put the growth down to higher activity and patient numbers in Mauritius and Uganda and stronger results at its laboratory business. The dollar figures are CIEL's own, converted at an average of 45.90 rupees to the dollar.

The family behind CIEL

CIEL traces its roots to the purchase of a single sugar estate in Mauritius in 1912. It moved into textiles in 1972 and began expanding abroad in 1989, first into Madagascar and later into countries including Tanzania. The group now runs six businesses: textiles, finance, healthcare, hotels and resorts, property, and agriculture. It employs more than 37,000 people across Africa and Asia and is listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius, where it had a market value of 13.4 billion rupees ($290.1 million) at the end of March.

The Dalais family runs the company. Jean-Pierre Dalais, who was group chief executive from 2017 to June 2024, became chairman in July 2025. Guillaume Dalais took over as group chief executive on July 1, 2024, after serving as deputy group chief executive. P. Arnaud Dalais, Marc Dalais and R. Thierry Dalais sit on the board as non-executive directors.

Billionaires.Africa's February ranking of the richest investors on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius valued Guillaume Dalais's 8.4% stake in CIEL at $26 million and Jean-Pierre Dalais's 5.78% stake at $18.2 million. The ranking covered listed shareholdings only.