The rhythmic clanging of steel, the hum of massive machinery, and the vibrant sparks that illuminate the night sky – these are the sights and sounds that emanate from the heart of Kenya’s steel industry.
Behind this industrial symphony, a group of exceptional visionaries has risen to prominence, transforming the nation’s steel landscape and catapulting Kenya into the global steel market.
Meet the billionaires behind Kenya’s Multi-billion steel industry:
Darshak Hasmukh Kanji Patel
Mr. Patel is the chairman of Corrugated Sheets Limited (CSL), which is headquartered in Mombasa. The company manufactures steel products under the Nyumba Brand.
Corrugated Sheets Limited (CSL) is owned by the Corrugated Group of Companies, founded in 1958 by an entrepreneur trading under the name of Venus Metal (Africa) Limited.
According to Business Daily, Mr. Patel’s name also features in Mombasa Cement, which produces cement under the Nyumba Brand.
Navin Savla
Navin Savla is a billionaire industrialist and the mastermind behind the Tononoka Group of companies, which owns Tononoka Rolling Mills Ltd.
The group was founded in 1980 with the formation of Tononoka Hardware Limited, which became a major supplier of steel products in the Kenyan market.
The initial growth of the trading business opened an opportunity for the commencement of a small manufacturing facility and the idea blossomed into the formation of Tononoka Steels Limited in March 1991.
The plant and corporate offices are located at North Airport Road in Embakasi and employ around 200 personnel.
Narendra Raval
The tale of Narendra Raval is that of a self-made billionaire steel industrialist and philanthropist. He owns the Nairobi-based Devki Steel Mills Limited, which he founded in 1999.
The company has three manufacturing plants located in Ruiru, Athi River, and Mombasa. The company produces a wide range of steel products, including bars, tubes, and wires.
Recently, Devki Steel Mills Ltd was penalized for restrictive trade practices.
Raval is also the executive chairman of the Devki Group, a diversified conglomerate with interests in steel, construction, real estate, and energy.
Milan Doshi
The billionaire Doshi family owns Doshi & Hardware Ltd, a subsidiary of Doshi group of companies.
The company was founded in 1930 by the late Nilesh Chandrakant Doshi, who was a Gujarati immigrant from India. The company is now run by the third generation of the Doshi family, led by Milan Doshi as the Managing Director.
Doshi & Hardware Ltd is a leading supplier of hardware and building materials in Kenya.
The company has a wide range of products, including steel, pipes, tools, and electrical supplies.
Harsh Patel
Harsh Patel is the Managing Director of Jumbo Steel Mills Limited, owned by the Jumbo Group of Companies.
The group was founded in 1990 by Indravadan Ashabhai Patel as a small hardware store in Kisumu. It has grown to encompass a diversified portfolio of businesses, including steel manufacturing, hardware, mattresses, and PVC tanks.
In 2022, Jumbo Steel Mills Ltd bought 82 trucks from Isuzu East Africa in a move to revamp its transport sector. The company, estimated to be worth about Ksh2 billion, is the brand behind Ndovu Tanks and Ndovu Mattresses.
Its Kisumu-based factory sits on 27 acres with warehouses covering 400,000 square feet. It has employed over 800 direct and indirect workers.
Avraj Singh Bhachu
Avraj Singh Bhachu is the brainhead of Accurate Steel Mills, owned by the Bhachu family.
Accurate Steel Mills Ltd, which was established in 1997, is a subsidiary of Bhachu Industries Ltd, which is a diversified conglomerate with interests in the steel, construction, and real estate sectors.
The company’s main plant is located in Nairobi’s Industrial Area.
Their products include deformed bars, round and square bars, hollow sections, mild steel angles, channels, and I-Beams as well as black pipes and BRC, among others.
Neelkamal Shah
Neelkamal Shah is the managing director of Nail and Steel Products Ltd.
The family-owned business was founded in 2000 and initially manufactured mild steel nails but later expanded its operations in 2004 to include a wider range of steel products through continuous investment in state-of-the-art machines.
Based in Industrial area, the company’s products are distributed in Kenya and East Africa under the brand name ‘Zingira’.
Ketan Doshi
Ketan Doshi, who hails from the billionaire Doshi family, is the man at the helm of Brollo Kenya Ltd.
The company was founded in 1972 by an Italian steel entrepreneur, but it was bought out by the Doshi family in the early 1990s.
Brollo Ltd began recording profits of over Ksh1 billion in 2015 and produces over 2000 tonnes of steel monthly.
Other than the Mombasa-based factory, the company has offices in Nairobi, Kisumu, and Embu, and exports its products to Tanzania, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kotni Rao
Kotni Rao is the founder of The Blue Nile Group of Companies, which owns the Thika-based Blue Nile Rolling Mills factory. The factory paid KshI billion in taxes in 2022.
The Blue Nile Group of Companies is a diversified conglomerate with interests in steel manufacturing, wire products, real estate, and trading.
The company is one of the leading steel manufacturers in Kenya, with over 500 employees. It also exports its products to other African countries.
