He started his career as a trader and ventured into growing vegetable, cotton and then sugarcane in the British East Africa. Later he ventured in to sugar manufacturing, tea and coffee plantations in that region. He in his later life also started a Cement plant, ginneries, a textile unit and oil mills in India. He thus founded the Mehta Group conglomerate, which is now spread across the globe. He was contemporary of some other Gujarati businessman and philanthropist of East Africa like Meghji Pethraj Shah, Muljibhai Madhvani and others. On the original building of Muljibhai Madhvani's office in Jinja, Nanjibhai's name still appears as DUKA YA KALIDASI, a mark of their friendship. He established the present day Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited under the name Uganda Sugar Factory in 1924 at Lugazi. He was one of the first exporters of Uganda's cotton to Japan and other places which greatly helped in the establishment of the cotton industry in Uganda. In 1932 he established a cotton mill named Maharana Mills in Porbandar, the land for which was given at a measly sum by Maharana Natwarsinhji of Porbandar. The company employed 2500 workers at time of Indian independence in 1947. Nanjibhai was an Arya Samaji and was instrumental in giving Dalits the jobs in spite of protests by Brahmins. Again it was for breaking the strike in this Maharana Mills, Nanjibhai is said to have employed services of Devu and Karsan Vagher in late 1960s. In 1956 he established Saurashtra Cement Limited in Gujarat.
In 1966, he published his Autobiography named Dreams half expressed, where he mentions He died on 25 August 1969 at Porbandar in India.
Honors
Mehta was awarded an M.B.E. by Britain for his work in Uganda. He was also given the title of Raj Ratna of Porbandar State by H.H. Maharana Sri Natwarsinhji and a title of Dhrama Ratna by the poet, Kaka Kalelkar. In Uganda, upon his death, the flag flew at half mast.
Philanthropist
India
Kirti Mandir at Porbandar, which houses the ancestral house ofMahatma Gandhi and a memorial/temple built in memory of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba, was mainly built due to efforts and money donated by Nanji Kalidas Mehta. He convinced Gandhiji to sell his ancestral house to a trust created by him, so that they can preserve it as a memorial.
Arya Kanya Gurukul, a Girls Resident School was started by him in 1936.
In 1954, he donated a plot of land at Haridwar for Gujarati Dharamshala of which he also was a trustee.
Arya Samaj Girls School and College / Gurukul Women's College of Arts and Commerce was started by him in 1956 at Porbandar.
He built the Maharshi Dayanand Science College and donated it to the Education Society of Porbandar and named it after Swami Dayanand Saraswati, to keep people alive the memory of the founder of Arya samaj.
Jawahralal Nehru Planetarium also called Tara Mandir was started by him in Porbandar, being the first in Western India. The planetarium has a gallery dedicated to Quit India Movement.
The Bharat Mandir at Porbandar is a unique edifice housing the cultural history and heritage of the country in paintings and in quotes on the surrounding walls and pillars and with a relief map of India in the centre.
In 2006 the Shri Santokba Vidyamandir was inaugurated in memory of Santokba, the wife of Nanjibhai, under the auspices of the Arya Kanya Vidyalaya Trust at Porbandar.
N.K. Mehta Hospital in Probandar.
N.K. Mehta Science College in Probandar.
Rokadiya Hanuman Temple at Probandar, which is now a tourist attraction of town.
At Bombay, the N. K. Mehta International House, a building built by Brihad Bharatiya Samaj, a non-political society designed for educational, social and economical interest of Indians abroad was built with a major donation from Nanji Kalidas Mehta. The building houses a library, research wing, auditorium and hostel.
Nanji Kalidas DAV Public School at Veraval is also named after him.
Recently, Jai Mehta, grandson of Nanji Kalidas and husband of Juhi Chawla along with Shah Rukh Khan, who together are co-owners of Kolkata Knight Riders have decided to take over existing ground named Duleep cricket ground at Porbandar and develop it into a world class cricket stadium, which will be named Nanji Kalidas Mehta Stadium.
Uganda
The Mehta Group founded by him runs a hospital at Lugazi and various dispensaries and runs 2 Nursery Schools, 13 Primary Schools and 1 Secondary School to provide education for more than 6,000 children in various cities like Kampala, Jinja, Lugazi, etc.
Arya Girls School at Kampala.
Town Hall, Mehta Library and Jubilee Park at Kampala.
The opening of The Desai Memorial Hall built with donations dedicated to Manilal Ambalal Desai was done by Nanji Kalidas Mehta in 1934. The foundation stone of it was laid with hands of Sarojini Naidu in 1929.
Kenya
He started the very first nursery school in East Africa at Mombasa, which was founded in 1934. The school was named Santokben Nanji Kalidas Mehta Nursery School. In 2006 the Mehta Group completely renovated, refurbished the school.
