Devki Group

Devki Group, formally referred to as the Devki Group of Companies, is a privately owned industrial conglomerate headquartered in Ruiru, Kiambu County, Kenya. Its businesses are concentrated mainly in the manufacture and distribution of construction materials, particularly steel, cement, aluminium products and related packaging. The group also has interests in aviation and operates manufacturing subsidiaries beyond Kenya, including in Uganda and Rwanda; the group’s wider regional footprint has also been described as extending to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The group’s origins are associated with Narendra Raval, a Kenyan industrialist and philanthropist who arrived in Kenya in 1982. In 1986, Raval and his wife, Neeta, established a hardware shop in Nairobi’s Gikomba Market. The retail business grew and later provided the foundation for industrial expansion. With assistance from a bank loan of approximately US$70,000, the couple established the group’s first steel mill. From that initial manufacturing operation, Devki developed into a multi-company industrial group serving Kenya’s construction sector and, increasingly, neighbouring East African markets. Devki’s operating companies include Devki Steel Mills Limited, Maisha Mabati Mills Limited and National Cement Company Limited. Other businesses associated with the group include Maisha Packaging Company Limited, Northwood Aviation Limited, Simba Cement Uganda Limited, ARM Cement Limited, Cimerwa Cement Limited in Rwanda and Tororo Steel Mill in Uganda. The portfolio reflects a strategy of vertical and adjacent expansion across basic industrial inputs: steel products and roofing materials, cement, aluminium-related manufacturing, packaging and selected supporting activities. As described in reference material covering April 2021, Devki was Kenya’s largest manufacturer of cement and steel at that time. The same account reported that the group manufactured products worth more than US$650 million annually and employed over 6,500 people. These figures are historical estimates and should not be treated as current financial disclosures because Devki is privately owned and does not publish the level of regular financial reporting associated with a listed company. The group’s headquarters are located along Ruiru–Kamiti Road in Ruiru Town, approximately 25.5 kilometres northeast of Nairobi’s central business district. Its factories and subsidiaries are distributed across several Kenyan industrial locations and across the East African region. Devki’s market position is built around domestic production of essential construction inputs, manufacturing scale and regional supply. Its products are used in housing, commercial construction, infrastructure and general building activity. Narendra Raval remains identified as the group’s founder and executive chairman and as the majority shareholder in its constituent companies. The group is therefore best understood as an owner-led corporate house rather than a separately listed consumer brand. Although the individual operating companies use their own names, the Devki identity functions as the umbrella brand associated with the group’s industrial assets, manufacturing capacity and regional expansion.

Devki Group emerged from the entrepreneurial activities of Narendra Raval and his wife, Neeta Raval. Raval arrived in Kenya in 1982, and in 1986 the couple opened a hardware shop in Nairobi’s Gikomba Market. The business initially operated as a retail venture, but its growth enabled the founders to move toward industrial manufacturing. A bank loan of approximately US$70,000 helped finance the establishment of the couple’s first steel mill, creating the foundation for the later Devki industrial group. The steel operation developed into a broader manufacturing platform. Over time, Devki expanded through companies producing steel and roofing materials, and subsequently into cement, aluminium-related products and packaging. This expansion followed the needs of Kenya’s construction and infrastructure markets, where locally manufactured steel and cement are core inputs. Rather than operating as a single factory or a single branded product line, Devki became a corporate group made up of specialist companies serving different parts of the construction-materials value chain. By April 2021, reference material characterized Devki as Kenya’s largest manufacturer of both cement and steel. At that point, the group was reported to employ more than 6,500 people and to manufacture products worth more than US$650 million annually. Those figures describe the scale attributed to the group at that time, but they are not audited current disclosures and should be read in their historical context. The group’s expansion also became regional. Its companies and operations were described in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, with the broader group footprint also associated with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Subsidiaries and affiliated operating companies included Devki Steel Mills, Maisha Mabati Mills, National Cement, Maisha Packaging, Northwood Aviation, Simba Cement Uganda, ARM Cement, Cimerwa Cement and Tororo Steel Mill. The portfolio shows a combination of organic industrial development, corporate ownership and regional manufacturing expansion. Devki’s headquarters are at Ruiru–Kamiti Road in Ruiru, Kiambu County, northeast of Nairobi. Its factories are located in several Kenyan locations and in other East African countries. Narendra Raval is identified as the group’s founder and executive chairman and as the majority shareholder in its companies. This ownership structure has kept Devki privately controlled and closely associated with its founder’s industrial and philanthropic profile. The group’s present identity is therefore that of a major Kenyan industrial house rather than a conventional consumer-facing brand. Its principal economic role is the manufacture of construction inputs, especially steel and cement, while its subsidiaries retain distinct names and operating identities. Devki’s importance in Kenya derives from its scale, local manufacturing base and participation in regional building-materials markets.

• 2021

  Recognized as a leading Kenyan steel and cement manufacturer

  [1]Devki Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material for April 2021 described Devki as Kenya’s largest manufacturer of cement and steel, with more than 6,500 employees and annual manufactured output valued at over US$650 million.

• 1986

  Founders open a hardware shop

  [1]Devki Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Narendra and Neeta Raval established a hardware shop in Nairobi’s Gikomba Market, creating the commercial starting point for the group.

• 1982

  Narendra Raval arrives in Kenya

  [1]Devki Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Narendra Raval arrived in Kenya, preceding the establishment of the business that later developed into Devki Group.

• First steel mill established

  [1]Devki Groupen.wikipedia.org

  After obtaining a bank loan of approximately US$70,000, the founders established their first steel mill and began the transition from hardware retail into industrial manufacturing.

A Kenyan, owner-led industrial conglomerate positioned around large-scale domestic and regional manufacture of essential construction materials, with particular strength in steel and cement.

• Steel manufacturing

  Devki Steel Mills

  Devki Steel Mills is one of the group’s core manufacturing businesses. It produces steel products for the construction and general industrial markets and represents the steelmaking activity from which the wider group developed. The company operates in Kenya and forms part of Devki’s strategy of supplying locally manufactured construction inputs.

• Roofing materials

  Maisha Mabati Mills

  Maisha Mabati Mills focuses on mabati and related roofing materials used in residential, commercial and other construction. Its position within the Devki portfolio extends the group’s steel capabilities into finished or semi-finished building products used directly by builders, contractors and property owners.

• Cement

  National Cement

  National Cement Company is a Kenyan cement business within the Devki Group. Its products serve construction and infrastructure applications and are part of the group’s expansion from steel into another essential building-material category. The business is associated with the group’s major cement manufacturing presence in Kenya.

• Cement

  Simba Cement

  Simba Cement Uganda is the group’s Ugandan cement operation. It extends Devki’s cement manufacturing presence into a neighbouring East African market and supports the group’s regional industrial strategy. Specific product variants and technical specifications are not identified in the supplied reference material.

• Cement

  Cimerwa Cement

  Cimerwa Cement is associated with Devki Group’s operations in Rwanda, with its plant located in Bugarama in Rusizi District. It represents the group’s presence in the Rwandan cement market and contributes to the regional manufacturing portfolio. The supplied material does not specify individual product lines or launch dates.

• Steel manufacturing

  Tororo Steel Mill

  Tororo Steel Mill is a Ugandan steel manufacturing operation located in Tororo District. It complements Devki’s Kenyan steel assets and gives the group additional production capacity in East Africa. Detailed output categories, product names and commissioning dates are not provided in the reference material.

• Packaging

  Maisha Packaging

  Maisha Packaging Company is an affiliated Devki business located in Athi River, Kenya. Packaging is an adjacent industrial activity within the group’s broader manufacturing portfolio. The available reference identifies the company but does not provide sufficient detail about its specific packaging formats, customers or product launches.

• 2026.10.26

  Reported2026.10.26

  Devki Group factory project announced in Kitui[2]Devki Group宣布在Kitui建设工厂项目capitalfm.africa

  President William Ruto announced plans to launch a cement and clinker factory in Ngaaie, Kitui County, on Tuesday. The factory is being developed by Devki Group.

  Weekdays and relative dates follow the original report; their exact calendar dates have not been verified.

Read more

1. 1Devki Groupen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Devki Group宣布在Kitui建设工厂项目capitalfm.africa