Devki Steel Mills Billionaire Owner: All You Need to Know

Updated 25 October 2026

The billionaire owner of Devki Steel Mills is Narendra Raval, the Indian-born Kenyan industrialist popularly known as “Guru”. He founded the Devki Group in 1986 and is its executive chairman and majority shareholder. Forbes put his net worth at US$400 million in 2015, roughly KSh 52 billion at today’s exchange rate of about KSh 129 to the dollar, and the Business Daily later cited a figure of about US$500 million. This guide covers who he is, how he built the group, the companies he controls and what Devki Steel Mills is doing now.

Narendra Raval at a glance

From temple priest to steel maker

Raval was born in India and became a priest at a Swaminarayan temple in Bhuj, Gujarat, at about 11 years old. As a teenager he moved to Kenya to serve as an assistant priest at a temple in Kisumu. Forbes reports that he was expelled from the sect when he married a Kenyan woman, after which he took a job in a small steel factory, where he learnt how steel is made.

In 1986 he pooled his savings and, with his wife, started a small steel processing and trading business in Nairobi. Wikipedia’s account says the couple began trading building materials in the open market at Gikomba. That small outfit became the Devki Group. He is still called Guru, a name linked to his priestly background rather than his business record, and he has spoken publicly about living simply, with one pair of shoes, a basic phone and no wallet or bank cards, according to a Business Daily profile.

What Devki Steel Mills does

Devki Steel Mills Limited is the group’s original steel company and is based in Ruiru. It produces steel products for the construction industry, the business that first made Raval’s fortune, including reinforcement bars and wire products such as barbed wire. Its output goes into buildings, roads and fencing across Kenya and the region.

The company is now moving upstream into raw materials. In October 2026, the Kenya Gazette carried Devki Steel Mills’ application for a licence to mine iron ore over about 29.83 square kilometres in Taita Taveta County, following earlier consent from shareholders of Kishushe Ranch. The ore is meant to feed a processing plant near Kishushe that the Kenya News Agency has valued at about KSh 11 billion. Read our full report on Devki Steel’s iron ore mining licence application for the details and the objection deadline.

Companies owned by Narendra Raval

Raval is the majority shareholder in each company in the Devki Group. As of late 2025, the group’s companies included the following:

Cement has become as important to the group as steel. National Cement won US$97 million in loans and equity from the International Finance Corporation in 2018 to expand its plants, with Raval adding about US$100 million of his own money, Forbes reported. The purchase of ARM Cement, maker of Rhino Cement, pushed the group’s share of the Kenyan cement market to about 21 percent, according to Tuko. In April 2024, President William Ruto commissioned the Cemtech clinker plant in West Pokot, a KSh 45 billion project built on a site the group bought from India’s Singh Cement.

Raval has also exited some ventures. In March 2022 the group sold its stake in Sosian Energy, which holds a concession for a 35 megawatt geothermal plant at Menengai, to Gideon Moi for an undisclosed sum.

Philanthropy

Raval is as well known for his giving as for his factories. During the COVID-19 pandemic he paused steel production at one of his plants so it could make oxygen, which was donated free to public hospitals. He says he has pledged half of his wealth to charity, and he donated all proceeds from his 2018 autobiography, Guru: A Long Walk to Success. The Business Daily reports that he runs children’s homes, has adopted government schools, built classrooms and funds feeding programmes for thousands of children. Maisha Mabati describes his aim as supplying building materials to ordinary Kenyans at affordable prices.

Why Devki matters to Kenya’s economy

Devki is one of the largest private manufacturers in the country and one of the biggest employers in Ruiru and Athi River. Its plans to mine local iron ore and make clinker in Kenya are aimed at cutting imports of raw materials, which affect the price of steel and cement for anyone building a house. For more on what that means for builders, see our list of roofing sheet manufacturers in Kenya, which includes Devki’s Maisha Mabati, and our report on rising building costs in Kenya. Job seekers can find manufacturing and construction openings on JobinKenya.

Frequently asked questions

Who owns Devki Steel Mills?

Devki Steel Mills is owned by the Devki Group, whose founder, executive chairman and majority shareholder is Narendra Raval, known as Guru.

What is Narendra Raval’s net worth?

Forbes estimated it at US$400 million in its 2015 list of Africa’s richest people. The Business Daily has since cited about US$500 million. No newer audited figure has been published.

Where is Devki Steel Mills located?

Its main operations are in Ruiru, Kiambu County, where the Devki Group is headquartered.

Is Simba Cement owned by Devki?

Yes. Simba Cement is made by National Cement Company, a Devki Group company based in Athi River.

Why is Narendra Raval called Guru?

The name comes from his background as a temple priest in India and Kisumu before he went into business.