Jotun Paints Announces Sh250 million investment in Kenya

Nairobi, Kenya:  Jotun, one of the world’s major paint manufacturers, has announced a significant investment in Kenya, with an aim to strengthen its market presence in the East Africa region. The investment totals to Shs250 million and will be utilised to set up regional offices in Nairobi to develop a fully operational warehouse and as well as recruiting and developing skilled teams for the brand in the country.

Speaking at the launch of the regional office in Nairobi, Ashish Vasudev, Jotun Kenya Country Manager said: “East Africa is a key emerging market for Jotun. With this investment in Kenya, the brand is in the midst of strengthening its distribution network across the region and aims to recruit more distributors to support this business objective.”

Although the brand was originally set up in Kenya through an agent in 1995, Jotun’s investment now establishes the brand as a legal entity in the country. Within the next few years, Jotun will set up a fully operational paint manufacturing unit in Kenya and use it as a base to distribute its products and offerings to other countries across East Africa.

Whilst the unit is being developed, the brand will continue to import products from Jotun facilities located in Egypt and United Arab Emirates and will initially focus on offering protective coating and decorative paints as part of its portfolio.

The regional office in Nairobi will work towards supporting Jotun’s expansion into Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, as well as growing operations across emerging markets. “Due to the rapid development of the economy combined with a growing literacy rate, Kenya holds substantial value in our expansion strategy across the East Africa region. Over the next few months, we will continue to develop our dealership, and work very closely with distributors and customers in the country,” said Ashish.

Jotun is currently looking to employ local staff in the sales, marketing, financial control and supply chain departments. Plans for Kenya also include research and development of new products, including marine and powder coatings, as part of the brand’s portfolio that will cater specifically to the region. Jotun will focus on producing unique products and concepts. “We are here to grow the overall market by offering customers world class quality products,” says Ashish.

Jotun is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing paint companies and is now present in over 90 countries around the world. It has been a pioneer in the in-shop tinting system and has over 9,000 shops all around the world.