PWANI OIL FOUNDER DIES

Nareshchandra Malde, 74, the Kenyan industrialist who founded Pwani Oil Products Limited, is dead.
Malde was a prominent industrialist who shaped some of Kenya's most successful homegrown brands. He passed away on Saturday, October 25, in Mombasa.

The company announced his death on Saturday, October 25, 2025, when he was surrounded by family. Malde has been described as “a visionary leader whose principles and leadership helped shape one of Kenya’s most successful homegrown brands.”

In 1981, the tycoon founded Pwani Oil together with his brothers Ramesh Kanji Malde and late Anil Hansha. Pwani Oil is a consumer goods company based in Mombasa, Kenya. The company started off with a small coconut-oil mill on the coast and then grew to become the Jomvu Pwani Oil Products factory, mainly producing corn, palm and sunflower oil.

Malde and his brothers started the company with a vision to provide quality products that promote healthy cooking and hygienic living.

Under his management, Pwani Oil modernized its refineries, diversified into personal care, and adopted renewable energy in a bid to boost efficiency for over four decades.

Besides business, Malde was also a philanthropist; he supported education, health, and community initiatives across the coastal region. Former Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala eulogized the tycoon as "a visionary entrepreneur whose integrity and hard work made Pwani Oil a source of pride for the region." My condolences to his family, friends, and the entire Pwani Oil fraternity. His legacy will continue to inspire generations of entrepreneurs along our Coast and beyond," Balala wrote on X.