Kenya is a country in East Africa and a founding member of the East African Community (EAC). Its capital and largest city is Nairobi. The capital, Nairobi, is a regional commercial hub. The economy of Kenya is the largest by GDP in East and Central Africa. [1] [2] Agriculture is a major employer; the country traditionally exports tea and coffee and has more recently begun to export fresh flowers to Europe. The service industry is also a major economic driver. Additionally, Kenya is a member of the East African Community trading bloc.
This list includes notable companies with primary headquarters located in the country. The industry and sector follow the Industry Classification Benchmark taxonomy. Organizations which have ceased operations are included and noted as defunct.
Name | Industry | Sector | Headquarters | Founded | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
98.4 Capital FM | Consumer services | Broadcasting & entertainment | Nairobi | 1996 | Radio |
ABC Bank | Financials | Banks | Nairobi | 1981 | Commercial bank |
ALS – Aircraft Leasing Services | Consumer services | Airlines | Nairobi | 1985 | Regional airline |
ARM Cement Limited | Industrials | Building materials & fixtures | Athi River | 1974 | Cement, fertilizers, minerals, mining, KN: ARM |
Bamburi Cement | Industrials | Building materials & fixtures | Nairobi | 1951 | Cement, KN: BAMB |
Carbacid Investments | Basic materials | Commodity chemicals | Nairobi | 1961 | Carbon dioxide, KN: CARB |
Chase Bank Kenya Limited | Financials | Banks | Nairobi | 1996 | Commercial bank |
CIC Insurance Group | Financials | Full line insurance | Nairobi | 1968 | Insurance |
CMC Aviation | Consumer services | Airlines | Nairobi | 1961 [3] | Charter airline, defunct 2011 |
Commercial Bank of Africa | Financials | Banks | Nairobi | 1962 | Commercial bank |
Consolidated Bank of Kenya | Financials | Banks | Nairobi | 1989 | Commercial bank |
Cooper Motor Corporation | Consumer goods | Automobiles | Nairobi | 1912 | Automotive, KN: CMC |
Cooperative Bank of Kenya | Financials | Banks | Nairobi | 1965 | Commercial bank, KN: COOP |
Credit Bank | Financials | Banks | Nairobi | 1986 | Commercial bank |
CRI Nairobi 91.9 FM | Consumer services | Broadcasting & entertainment | Nairobi | 2006 | Radio station |
Davis & Shirtliff | Energy | Energy equipment | Nairobi | 1946 | Equipment supplier for water and energy |
Dawa Limited | Healthcare | Pharmaceuticals | Nairobi | 1974 | Pharmaceutical Company |
Del Monte Kenya | Consumer goods | Food products | Thika | 1965 | Pineapple cultivation, part of Fresh Del Monte Produce (US) |
Development Bank of Kenya | Financials | Banks | Nairobi | 1963 | Commercial bank |
Diamond Trust Bank Group | Financials | Banks | Nairobi | 1945 | Banking group, KN: DTK |
Dubai Bank Kenya | Financials | Banks | Nairobi | 1982 | Commercial bank, defunct 2015 |
East African Breweries | Consumer goods | Brewers | Nairobi | 1922 | Beer, KN: EABL |
Equity Group Holdings Limited | Financials | Banks | Nairobi | 1984 | KN: EQTY |
Eveready East Africa | Consumer goods | Nondurable household products | Nairobi | 1967 | Batteries, disposable shavers, KN: EVRD |
Jubilee Insurance Company Limited | Financials | Full line insurance | Nairobi | 1937 | KN: JUB |
Kakuzi Limited | Consumer goods | Food products | Thika [4] | 1906 [4] | Coffee, tea, fruit, KN: KUKZ |
KCB Group Limited | Financials | Banks | Nairobi | 1896 | Banking, investments, KN: KCB |
KenolKobil | Oil & gas | Exploration & production | Nairobi | 1959 | Petroleum, KN: KENO |
Kenya Airways | Consumer services | Airlines | Nairobi | 1977 | Flag airline, KN: KQNA |
Kenya Electricity Generating Company | Utilities | Conventional electricity | Nairobi | 1954 | Electricity generation, KN: KEGN |
Kenya Railways Corporation | Industrials | Railroads | Nairobi | 1977 | National railways |
Kenya Reinsurance Corporation | Financials | Full line insurance | Nairobi | 1971 | Reinsurance |
Mobius Motors | Consumer goods | Automobiles | Nairobi | 2009 | Automotive |
Mumias Sugar Company Limited | Consumer goods | Food products | Nairobi | 1971 | Sugar estates and manufacture, KN: MSC |
Nation Media Group | Consumer services | Broadcasting & entertainment | Nairobi | 1959 | Newspapers, magazines, radio, television, KN: NMG |
National Oil Corporation of Kenya | Oil & gas | Exploration & production | Nairobi | 1981 | Petroleum |
Naivas Limited | Consumer services | Food retailers & wholesalers | Nairobi | 1990 | Grocery |
Olympia Capital Holdings | Industrials | Building materials & fixtures | Nairobi | 1968 | Flooring, building materials, KN: OCH |
Postal Corporation of Kenya | Industrials | Delivery services | Nairobi | 1999 | Postal services |
Rea Vipingo Sisal Estate | Consumer goods | Farming & fishing | Nairobi | 1939 | Plantations, KN: REA |
Safaricom | Telecommunications | Mobile telecommunications | Nairobi | 1997 | {{{6}}} |
Sameer Group | Industrials | Diversified industrials | Nairobi | 1969 [5] | High tech, agribusiness, manufacturing, transport, KN: FIRE |
Sasini Tea and Coffee | Consumer goods | Food products | Nairobi | 1952 [6] | Tea, coffee, KN: SASN, part of Sameer Group |
Serena Hotels | Consumer services | Travel & toruism | Nairobi | 1970 | Tourism promotion services, hotels, resorts, KN: TPSE |
Telkom Kenya | Telecommunications | Fixed line telecommunications | Nairobi | 1999 | State telecom provider |
Uchumi Supermarkets | Consumer services | Food retailers & wholesalers | Nairobi | 1975 | KN: UCHM |
Unga Group | Consumer goods | Food products | Nairobi | 1908 | Flour milling, KN: UNGA |
WPP-Scangroup | Consumer services | Broadcasting & entertainment | Nairobi | 1996 | Advertising, KN: SCAN |
The economy of Kenya is market-based with a few state enterprises. Kenya has an emerging market and is an averagely industrialised nation ahead of its East African peers. Currently a lower middle income nation, it plans to be a newly industrialised nation by 2030. Major industries include agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, manufacturing, energy, tourism and financial services. As of 2020, Kenya had the third largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, behind Nigeria and South Africa.
The economy of Malawi is $7.522 billion by gross domestic product as of 2019, and is predominantly agricultural, with about 80% of the population living in rural areas. The landlocked country in south central Africa ranks among the world's least developed countries. In 2017, agriculture accounted for about one-third of GDP and about 80% of export revenue. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. The government faces strong challenges: to spur exports, to improve educational and health facilities, to face up to environmental problems of deforestation and erosion, and to deal with the problem of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Malawi is a least developed country according to United Nations.
The economy of Nigeria is a middle-income, mixed economy and emerging market with expanding manufacturing, financial, service, communications, technology, and entertainment sectors. It is ranked as the 39th-largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP, the largest in Africa and the 27th-largest in terms of purchasing power parity.
Somalia is classified by the United Nations as a least developed country, with the majority of its population being dependent on agriculture and livestock for their livelihood. The economy of Somalia is $4.918 billion by gross domestic product as of 2020. For 1994, the CIA estimated it at purchasing power parity to be approximately $3.3 billion. In 2001, it was estimated to be $4.1 billion. By 2009, the CIA estimated that it had grown to $5.731 billion, with a projected real growth rate of 2.6%. In 2014, the International Monetary Fund estimated economic activity to have expanded by 3.7% primarily. This expansion was driven by growth in the primary sector and the secondary sector. According to a 2007 British Chambers of Commerce report, the private sector has experienced growth, particularly in the service sector. Unlike the pre-civil war period, when most services and the industrial sector were government-run, there has been substantial, albeit unmeasured, private investment in commercial activities. The investment has been largely financed by the Somali diaspora, and includes trade and marketing, money transfer services, transportation, communications, fishery equipment, airlines, telecommunications, education, health, construction and hotels.
The economy of Tanzania is a lower-middle income economy that is overwhelmingly dependent on agriculture. Tanzania's economy has been transitioning from a command economy to a market economy since 1985. Although total GDP has increased since these reforms began, GDP per capita dropped sharply at first, and only exceeded the pre-transition figure in around 2007.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in British Kenya. The exchange had 66 listed companies in February 2021.
The Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) is the principal stock exchange of Uganda. It was founded in June 1997. The USE is operated under the jurisdiction of Uganda's Capital Markets Authority, which in turn reports to the Bank of Uganda, Uganda's central bank.
Edward Haggai Ntalami (19 March 1947 – 20 November 2014) was a business executive and the former CEO of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kenya. Ntalami was involved in Kenya's capital markets. He served for over two decades in financial planning and management in the fields of commerce and industry, public sector. Prior to his appointment at the CMA, Ntalami was the executive director of Sterling Securities Limited, a local stockbroker. He was appointed Chief Executive, Capital Markets Authority in December 2002 by President Mwai Kibaki. He completed his term in office on 17 December 2007. Seven months after he left Stella Kilonzo became head of CMA.
The Jubilee Insurance Company of Kenya (JICK), mostly known as Jubilee Insurance, is an insurance company in Kenya, which has the largest economy in the East African Community. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jubilee Holdings Limited, a multinational insurance holding company, which maintains its headquarters in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, and Mauritius, with plans to expand on the African continent.
Olympia Capital Holdings Limited is a holding company comprising several businesses in East and Southern Africa. The company's headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Botswana and South Africa. The company is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and trades as OCH. In addition to the NSE listing, its Botswana subsidiary Olympia Capital Corporation is listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange.
Algeria's economy continued to recover in the first half of 2022, led by a return of oil production to pre-pandemic levels and a continued recovery of the service sector along with a more vigorous agricultural activity. The recovery should continue into 2023, supported by the nonhydrocarbon sector and public expenditure growth, according to the latest edition of the World Bank's Algeria Economic Update.
KCB Group Limited, also known as the KCB Group, is a financial services holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. The Group's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with its subsidiaries being KCB Bank Kenya Limited, KCB Bank Burundi Limited, KCB Bank Rwanda Limited, KCB Bank South Sudan Limited, KCB Bank Tanzania Limited, KCB TMB Congo and KCB Bank Uganda Limited.
Kenya Power and Lighting Company, commonly referred to as Kenya Power or shortened KPLC, is a public liability company which transmits, distributes and retails electricity to customers throughout Kenya.
Family Bank Limited (FBL), commonly known as Family Bank, is a commercial bank in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank and national banking regulator.
The Rwanda Stock Exchange Limited was incorporated on 7 October 2005 with the objective of carrying out stock market operations. The Stock Exchange was demutualized from the start as it was registered as a company limited by shares. The company was officially launched on 31 January 2011.
NCBA Group Plc, is a financial services conglomerate in East and West Africa. The Group's headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Ivory Coast.
Stanbic Holdings Plc, formerly known as CfC Stanbic Holdings Limited, is a financial services organization in Kenya. The Group's headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya and South Sudan. Stanbic Holdings is a member of the Standard Bank Group, a financial services giant based in South Africa. The institution is licensed and governed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the national banking regulator.
Equity Group Holdings Limited (EGHL), formerly Equity Bank Group, is a financial services holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. EGHL's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and a representative office in Ethiopia.
Brookside Dairy Limited, often referred to as Brookside Dairies, is a dairy processing company in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. The company offers fresh pasteurized milk, cream, butter, yogurt, ghee, and long life milk products in Indian Ocean Islands, East Africa, Rwanda and Burundi. It provides products through distribution depots, agents, and sub agents to outlets in East Africa.