Three Kenyan companies, Tecof Limited, Mt. Kenya Tea Factory Company Limited, and Njeru Industries Limited have been placed under administration.
The companies now join a growing list of firms turning to Kenya’s insolvency framework as financial distress intensifies across industries.
In a gazette notice dated September 26, insolvency practitioners Ponangipalli Venkata Ramana Rao and Swaroop Rao Ponangipalli have been appointed as joint administrators effective September 3, 2025.
“Notice is given that Ponangipalli Venkata Ramana Rao and Swaroop Rao Ponangipalli both of P.O. Box 51-00623 Nairobi, Kenya, have been appointed as joint Administrators of Njeru Industries Limited, Mt. Kenya Tea Factory company Limited, Tecof Limited (Under Administration) (“the Company”) effective from the 3rd day of September, 2025,” read the notice in part.
“Following the appointment, all the affairs and business of the company are being conducted by the Administrators.”
Tecof, Mt. Kenya Tea, and Njeru Industries Placed Under Administration
In the notice, it was revealed that the powers of the Administrators extend to all assets and undertakings of the Company.
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The powers of the directors in terms of dealing with the company’s assets ceased.
Any party having a claim against the Company to submit their claim in writing with relevant supporting documentation to the Administrators on or before Saturday, October 4, 2025, for consideration.
“Administrators act as agents of the Company without personal liability,” the notice read further.
All correspondence, claims, and inquiries should be addressed to: Ponangipalli Venkata Ramana Rao and Swaroop Rao Ponangipalli.
Mount Kenya tea factory processes freshly harvested tea leaves from smallholder farmers into high-quality black tea through cutting, tearing, and curling (CTC) and continuous fermentation, before selling the finished product at the Mombasa Auction, direct overseas markets, or local sales.
Tecof Limited is a Kenyan company that acts as a supplier and exporter of various products, including coffee, coffee husk, and chocolate confectionery, as well as other health foods like organic vegetables and coconut sugar.
They process and export these agricultural products, with potential markets including Afghanistan, Brazil, and Germany.
Njeru Industries Ltd is a family-owned business that has become one of the largest tea estates in Kenya.
The tea estates are located in Igembe District, Meru County, in the Nyambene mountain range, that are part of the Mt Kenya region.
The estates are one of the largest private estates East of the Rift Valley and comprises a total of 650 acres, with 500 acres of mature plants and 150 acres under development with the new clone of Purple tea.
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What It Means When a Company Is Under Administration
A court or creditors can place a company under administration to attempt rescue or orderly restructuring.
In simple terms, it means the business is in serious financial trouble — it owes more than it can pay — and an expert is brought in to try to save it.
This expert is called an administrator who once appointed, takes charge of running the business, selling assets, or negotiating with creditors.
This process is provided for in Kenya under Part VIII of the Insolvency Act, 2015 (Cap 53).
An administrator runs the business as a going concern and proposes a plan to repay creditors or sell the business in whole.
The objectives of the administration of a company are:
(a) to maintain the company as a going concern;
(b) to achieve a better outcome for the company’s creditors as a whole than would be the case if the company were liquidated (without first being under administration);
(c) to realise the property of the company in order to make a distribution to one or more secured or preferential creditors.
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