Kenya is one of the African countries with rich companies that are striving to create sources of employment in the economy of East Africa.
Although the country has many companies, the richest ones have gained recognition through local and foreign investors.
These companies are under the management of famous Kenyan individuals and foreign investors who ensure better employees’ investment to keep them running.
Below are currently the five (5) wealthiest companies in Kenya with their owner and profits.
1. Nation Media Group
According to the East and Central Africa company rating in June 2021, Nation Media Group Kenya is the largest independent media house operating digital media, broadcasting channels, and prints.
The company started functioning in 1959, and the foundation of the National Media Group came through the Aga Khan IV.
Nation Media Group is one of the richest companies in Kenya listed under the Nairobi Stock Exchange, with a total profit of 6Ksh 6.96 billion after paying its tax.
It is among the largest private media houses in Africa, and it has different offices in several countries like Tanzania, Uganda, etc., with its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
The company is responsible for several media publications like the ‘CitizenDigital – Kenya’s no.1 news website, ‘Daily Monitor’ – an independent newspaper, ‘Taifo Leo’ – Swahili-language newspaper, ‘Zuqka,’ ‘Business Daily Africa’ – an English-language daily newspaper, and many others.
2. Equity Bank
Another rich company in Kenya is Equity Bank, established in 1984 by Peter Munga, a Kenyan businessman, and entrepreneur.
The Equity bank profit in six months is estimated to be 17.9 billion.
As of 2019, the company has changed its image to equity group holding Ltd, and it has several branches and customers all over the African continent.
On the African continent in general, Equity Bank Group is currently the largest bank holding company with up to 14 million customers (according to the estimation in August 2020).
3. Safaricom PLC
Safaricom PLC is also a notable company in Kenya, established in 1997, owned by Telkom Kenya, and has many subsidiary companies.
It is a mobile network operator in Nairobi, Kenya, situated at Safaricom House and tops as the biggest telecommunications provider in the country.
The current CEO of Safaricom PLC is Peter Ndegwa, and the number of employees is up to 4500 in population.
Substantial shareholders of the company are the government of Kenya, and their profit as of March 2021 is Sh68.
4. TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya
TotalEnergies marketing company is a company that markets and also distributes petroleum products.
In the East Africa oil and gas sector, this company remains the market leader for the supply of gas and petroleum products.
It counts among the significant companies in Kenya, established in 19956 by Eric Fanchini.
The company has about 200 service stations across the country with subsidiaries that offer related services.
TotalEnergies experience a considerable increase, and it makes their profit improve to 50%. Their profit improved from the initial amount of KSh31 in 2020 to KSh1 to 5 billion.
5. East African Breweries Limited
Just as the name implies, the East African Breweries is an alcoholic beverage company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with many branches in other African countries like South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The company is also big in Kenya, established in 1922 by George and Charles Hurst.
Their total profit before they pay their tax is KSh4 10.7 million.
The company now has several distribution partners in other countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda, from its expansion process.
6. Kenya Airways Ltd.
As I said initially, there are several big companies in Kenya, but some are more prominent and bigger than others.
We will not forget to mention the flagship carrier airline Kenya Airways Limited, most frequently called Kenya Airways.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that this airline company is the best and the biggest across the country. The revenue of Kenya Airways Ltd, as of June 2021, is Ksh 116 million, and its operating income is Ksh 4 million.
The owners of the company are individual shareholders which include:
KLM (now Air France-KLM) (26%)
Kenyan government (23%)
Individual Kenyan shareholders (30.94%)
Kenyan institutional investors (14.2%)
Foreign institutional investors (4.47%), and
Individual foreign investors (1.39%).
The total revenue of Kenya Airways is KSh52,800 million (FY 2020), while the profit is KSh36,200 million (FY 2020), with the number of employees 3,986.
Bottom Line
These biggest companies in Kenya help create employment opportunities for the citizens of Kenya and its residents.
They operate many subsidiaries and branches in several African nations, and they have employees ranging between 500 and above, with an average of $7 million in annual receipts.
