Amsons Group pledges Sh4.5b for hospitals
Business
By
Brian Ngugi
| May 01, 2026
Amsons Group MD Edha Nahdi during the launch of “Amsons Mama na Mtoto Kwanza” project at State House, Nairobi, on April 30, 2026. [Courtesy]
Tanzanian-founded family-owned conglomerate with Kenyan interests in cement, fuel and manufacturing, Amsons Group has committed Sh4.5 billion to build 10 mother-and-child hospitals in Kenya over the next three years.
The pledge is the largest private grant for maternal health in the country. Many Kenyans struggle to access affordable and quality healthcare, especially in rural areas where clinics are understaffed and poorly equipped. Long distances to hospitals and high out-of-pocket costs force many mothers to give birth without skilled help, sometimes with life-threatening consequences.
The grant from Amsons will finance the construction and equipment of ten Level 4 hospitals – facilities that can provide inpatient care, emergency services and basic specialised treatment.
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Amsons said it will build and equip the hospitals, then transfer them to the government at no cost under the “Build, Equip and Transfer” model.
The government will be responsible for staffing and medical supplies.
If actualised, the project will plug critical gaps in healthcare access where maternal care remains out of reach for many women and children.
Many die or suffer from a lack of access to basic health services. The ten hospitals will be located in Nairobi, Kwale, Mombasa, Garissa, Kisumu, Embu, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu and West Pokot.
These counties include some of the 26 regions where official data show 3,600 mothers and 5,000 newborns die each year during childbirth. President William Ruto said the project, named “Amsons Mama na Mtoto Kwanza” (Mother and Child First), will serve more than one million women in remote areas.
The first facilities are due to open in the 2026/2027 fiscal year. Amsons Group holds controlling stakes in 16 firms across Africa, including Bamburi and East African Portland Cement.
The group says its “shared prosperity” model requires it to fund social projects in countries where it operates. Amsons Group CEO Edha Nahdi said each of the ten hospitals will have 250 beds.
“We are not just building hospitals,” Nahdi said. “We are helping to reduce maternal and infant deaths.”