Our History | African Cotton Industries Ltd

Our History and Milestones

Building a 50+ year legacy in health, hygiene & personal care across East Africa.

1954 — Founding

Absorbent Cotton Industries acquired by the late Karim Anjarwalla, establishing the foundation of a Kenyan-owned enterprise in health & hygiene products.

1960 — Incorporation & Leadership

Re-incorporated as African Cotton Industries Ltd., becoming a regional leader in cotton wool manufacturing in East & Central Africa.

1972 — Entry into Women’s Health

Commissioned a German sanitary pad production facility and introduced Medicott® — the first locally manufactured sanitary pad in East Africa.

1999 — Diversification into Tissue Paper

Pioneered tissue paper importing and converting, launching Tena® into the market—today recognized as Kenya’s leading premium tissue brand.

2001 — Nairobi Manufacturing Footprint

Invested in a 5-acre, 110,000 sq. ft. operational facility in Nairobi to support scale, distribution efficiencies, and regional growth.

2005 — Category Innovation

Commissioned Kenya’s first ultra-thin sanitary pads with wings line, increasing sanitary pad manufacturing capacity to 5 million pads per month.

2012 — Public Sector Partnership

Partnered with Kenya’s Ministry of Education to deliver sanitary pads to over one million underserved girls through a long-term national initiative.

2018 — Strategic Expansion into Baby Care

Launched Snuggles® baby diapers, entering the baby care category and initiating a global sourcing model to complement in-house manufacturing.

2020 — Transformation & Governance

Selected for the Stanford Graduate School of Business Seed Transformation Program and established a Strategic Advisory Committee to support governance, growth, and long-term strategy.