Bisons at the Centre of Sustainability
In 1986, a trio of young men set up a pushcart on the sun-soaked boardwalk of Grand Beach, selling T-shirts to the bustling summer crowds.
They didn’t know it then but Ash Modha [BA/98], his brother Prashant Modha [MBA/91] and friend Raj Bahl [BA/90] were stitching the first threads of what would become the global fashion brand Mondetta Clothing.
It was while driving to that same beach that Ash had spotted a Volkswagen Beetle with a German flag on its front license plate and thought, “That would be amazing on the front of a sweatshirt.” The idea sparked Mondetta’s signature flag sweatshirts, which went on to sell over three million units and became an international sensation.
Their globally inspired clothing—what Ash calls “social fashion”—hit at the right time. The Berlin Wall was coming down. CNN was becoming the eyes of the world. Technology was shrinking distances, and Mondetta—a name combining the French world for “world” and the Latin suffix for “small”—captured that spirit. “It was good luck and good timing,” says Ash, Mondetta CEO.
It was also a testament to their drive, sharp instincts and being in the right place to start their business. In the early days of Mondetta, Ash, Prashant and Raj were students at the University of Manitoba. As immigrants from East Africa, they discovered their education opened doors to the province’s business community, granting them access to connections that would shape Mondetta’s future.
“We are very fortunate to be in Manitoba,” Ash says. “If we did not develop this company here, we would not have the capacity to pick up a phone and call business leaders like Hartley Richardson [BComm(Hons)/77, LLD/2004] or Paul Soubry [BComms(Hons)/84]. That’s unheard of in Ontario or B.C.”
This tight-knit nature worked in their favour.
“The beauty of being a graduate from the University of Manitoba—and being part of the Winnipeg and Manitoba community—is that intertwining of education and contacts. There’s such a capacity. We call it the ‘collective act of will.’ Because when everyone gets together, you’re able to do so much more,” Ash says.
Photo courtesy The Winnipeg Free Press
Mondetta has always been about more than just clothes. The company has long prioritized doing good in both Manitoba and the interconnected world that inspired it.
“We’ve been trying to do the right thing since basically day one,” says Prashant, Mondetta CFO. “ESG [environmental, social and governance], production, paying employees properly, no prison labour, no child labour.”
“This is the apparel industry—it is one of the most competitive industries in the world,” says Raj, Mondetta EVP of Sales. “But it’s not about being the coolest brand that everybody’s seeking. It’s about making sure that the ethos of the company—in terms of ESG and our transparency—is strong. Becoming a leader in that helps us overcome challenges and keep our elbows up high in this competitive industry.”
Their commitment to sustainability is woven into their operations. Mondetta has an employee ownership program and is one of the few Manitoba companies to have a B Corp certification, meaning it meets the most demanding international standard for social and environmental responsibility. Interacting with a supply chain spanning 13 countries, Ash says they’re working towards getting to net zero emissions by 2028. And having expanded into active wear in the 2000s, Mondetta is forever exploring improved sustainable fabrics, from clothing that can decompose in about a year to fabrics made from coffee grounds.
The company’s influence extends to inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurial newcomers in Manitoba.
“One thing that’s really interesting is when you speak to that younger generation of immigrants, they always say we were the reason a lot of them went into business school, or started businesses in the province,” Ash says.
“When I was in business school, there were probably 800 students in the Faculty of Commerce and maybe eight South Asian kids. Now, over half, I would say, are immigrants,” Prashant says.
“They said, ‘If they can do it, we can also do it.’” Ash says. “And that means a lot to us.”
Point of View // Ash Modha on leveraging Manitoba’s growing immigrant talent pool
For Mondetta Clothing, Manitoba’s increasing diversity has become a catalyst for innovation and growth.
“What we’re seeing now is a significant opportunity where so many more immigrants are coming to Manitoba,” Ash says. “Many of the immigrants coming were in the apparel business in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.”
This influx has expanded the company’s talent base.
“There’s this wider net of really smart people coming to the province where we’re able to bring them into our business,” Ash says. “It’s evolving to a place where you’re seeing a lot more structured opportunity from a labour market that’s very strong and matches the capacity of what we need as an organization.”
At the University of Manitoba, Bisons are at the centre of health care, finance, Reconciliation and so much more. Wherever there’s a challenge, you’ll find UM alumni leading the charge. Explore the Bisons at the Centre campaign and meet other alumni who—like Ash, Prashant and Raj—are shaping Manitoba and beyond.