Longhorn Publishers PLC is a Kenyan-owned company that provides textbooks, general books, and digital learning materials across East and Central Africa.
It is listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange – NSE, and trades under the ticker symbol ‘LKL’
The company is popular in Kenya primarily because it is the only publisher with full approval from the Ministry of Education for textbooks in 12 key subjects across both primary and secondary schools.
Headquartered in Nairobi, it serves schools and students in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
Longhorn Publishers PLC is wholly Kenyan-owned, with most of its shares held by Centum Investment Company, a Nairobi-based investment firm.
Longhorn Publishers PLC Shareholders
Longhorn Publishers is a publicly listed company on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
As to the latest available reports, the largest single shareholder is Centum Investment Company, which holds about 60.2% of the shares.
Other notable shareholders include:
- Centum Investment Company: 60.20%
- Pacific Futures and Options Limited: 12.85%
- Francis Thombe Nyammo (Group Chairman): 5.88%
- Halifax Capital Corporation Limited: 4.49%
- Kamami Investments Limited: 1.14%
- Textbook Centre Limited: 1.05%
- Other shareholders: 14.39%
As of October 2025, Longhorn Publishers’ CEO is Simon Ngigi, who is serving as the Acting Chief Executive Officer.
He was appointed following the resignation of the previous CEO, Maxwell Wahome, who stepped down on September 30, 2025, after seven years in the role.
Simon Ngigi previously served as Longhorn’s CEO from 2015 to 2018
Products Offered
Longhorn Publishers specialises in educational materials, including primary and secondary school textbooks, general books, and digital learning solutions.
The company develops curriculum-aligned content tailored to the educational needs of East and Central African countries.
In recent years, Longhorn has also embraced digital learning platforms, expanding its reach beyond traditional print publishing to support schools and learners with innovative educational tools.
Company Locations
The company is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and operates across East and Central Africa.
Its regional branches include offices and distribution centres in Kampala (Uganda), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Kigali (Rwanda), and Juba (South Sudan).
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These branches manage local publishing, sales, and distribution, ensuring that educational materials reach schools and institutions efficiently across the region.
History
Longhorn Publishers began operations in Kenya in May 1965 as Longmans of Kenya, a wholly owned subsidiary of Longman Group International from the UK.
Initially, it focused on selling and promoting UK-published Longman books.
The company changed its name to Longman Kenya Limited in 1969 and started limited local publishing in the 1970s.
In the early 1990s, the Kenyan government policy banned the importation of textbooks, which pressured Longman UK to cut its stake in the market.
By 1993, Longman UK had fully divested, selling its remaining shares to Kenyan investors, including Centum Investment Company, leading to the company being renamed Longhorn Kenya Limited.
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Longhorn then expanded regionally by establishing subsidiaries in Uganda (1995) and Tanzania (2005), and later entered the Rwanda and Malawi markets through agents.
In May 2012, Longhorn became the first publishing company to be listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
Since then, it has rebranded as Longhorn Publishers and grown into a major Pan-African publishing house with subsidiaries and distribution across multiple African countries.
It is now a leading publisher of educational materials in East and Central Africa, with a portfolio of over 700 approved titles across multiple education levels
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