Ramco Group

Ramco Group is a Kenyan family conglomerate of over 45 companies operating across East Africa in six verticals: printing and packaging, hardware and building materials, general manufacturing, office supplies and stationery, services (IT, travel, finance), and properties. Founded in 1948 by Rambhai Patel as a small hardware store in downtown Nairobi (Rambhai & Co. Ltd) after he arrived from Gujarat, India in the early 1940s. His three sons Kirit, Mahendra, and Chandrakant Patel joined the business in the mid-1960s and mid-1970s. In 1986 the group diversified into stainless steel (ASL Steel) and printing (Polythene Industries); in 1995 it acquired Sai Office Supplies. The third generation (Amit, Prital, Hasit, and Kartik Patel) joined in the late 1980s and led further diversification. Today Ramco Group operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda with over 4,500 employees, annual revenue exceeding USD 320 million, 36 retail outlets, and 19 production facilities. Its philosophy is "every relationship is family and family comes first". Subsidiaries include Sai Office Supplies, ASL Limited (Engineering, Industrial, Wire & Cable divisions), Krona Plastics, Pidilite East Africa, Ramco Printing Works, Die Cutting Experts, Ovidian Advertising, Multivista Kenya, and Platinum Packaging.