Over the past week, the prices of Umi and Ajab maize flours have generated a lot of attention on social media. These products were listed as 2kg packets of flour retailing for less than Ksh 160, in line with the government’s promise of reduced maize flour costs. Grain Industries Limited (GIL), the company behind these brands, is estimated to be worth Ksh 15 billion and manufactures a variety of flour products, including Ajab, which is their flagship product.
Under the Ajab brand name, GIL also produces other products, such as Ajab Fortified All Purpose Home Baking Flour and Ajab Fortified Sifted Maize Meal. Additionally, GIL owns Asli Commercial Bakers Flour, known for its strong rise. Two years after launching Ajab, GIL introduced Umi into the market, under which it has two other products, namely Umi Fortified All-purpose Flour and Umi Sifted Maize Meal. GIL later acquired Lotus from Rafiki Millers and relaunched Fortified Home Baking All-Purpose Flour into the market in February 2022.
GIL’s quality certifications include FSSC Award/ISO certification FSSC 22000 and Superbrands Status (2020-2022). The company has also been awarded ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 certifications. In terms of business awards, GIL has won New Business of the Year, Best Customer Focus Company, and Best Growth Strategy Company of the Year awards by the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Mombasa Business Awards.
Munir Thabit, a former banker, established GIL in 2017. At the time, the country’s political climate was volatile due to a disputed election outcome. Munir filed a petition for the same at the Supreme Court, after which ex-Chief Justice David Maraga nullified the elections and ordered a rerun. In a past interview, Munir disclosed that people labeled him crazy for establishing a business at such a time.
Despite not holding a degree at the time, Munir enrolled for an MBA at York St John University in the United Kingdom a little later. Before going into banking, Munir worked with the Kenya Air Force and later Barclays Bank for eight years. He then joined Fast-Moving Consumer Foods (FMCG) in Mombasa, where he worked for 18 years. Munir left FMCG when he felt that there was no appreciation and respect. He then started scouting for investors to set up a milling company in Mombasa, which eventually became GIL.
Today, GIL has grown from three initial employees to over 500 staff, including millers, drivers, accountants, a sales team, and support staff. Munir has three children, a son and two daughters, and he adopted his nephew after his mother and sister died in a road accident.
