Tanzanian businessman Edha Nahdi is committing $35 million of his conglomerate’s money to Kenya’s public health system, funding 10 specialized hospitals for mothers and newborns across the country.

Kenyan President William Ruto laid the foundation stone on Sept. 12 for the first facility, the Chebunyo Amsons Mother and Baby Hospital in Chepalungu, Bomet County. The project, funded by Amsons Group under its Mama na Mtoto Kwanza initiative, or “mother and child first,” represents a KSh4.5 billion ($35 million) commitment with no equity stake or financial return for the company.

The Chebunyo hospital will be a Level 4 facility with 200 to 250 beds. Plans include maternity and neonatal operating theaters, antenatal and postnatal wards, as well as intensive care units for adults and newborns. Ruto said construction is expected to take six months, with the hospital scheduled to open by March 2027.

Addressing Kenya’s urgent maternal health crisis

The investment comes as Kenya faces a persistent shortage of maternal healthcare facilities. About 16 women die each day from pregnancy and childbirth complications, while fewer than half of the country’s health facilities provide maternity services. Only about one-third can handle obstetric emergencies.

The shortage is particularly severe outside Kenya’s largest cities. Level 4 hospitals have about 6,231 beds against an estimated need for 18,900, while 26 of the country’s 47 counties account for about 60 percent of maternal and newborn deaths.

“No woman should lose her life while giving life,” Ruto said at the ceremony. For Edha Nahdi, the hospital project comes after two years of major investments in Kenya, where Amsons has expanded its presence in cement and other industries.

Amsons accelerates Kenya cement production push

Nahdi, managing director of Amsons Group, founded Camel Oil Tanzania at 19 before expanding the business into petroleum, cement manufacturing, real estate and logistics. His biggest Kenyan deal came in 2024, when Amsons agreed to acquire Bamburi Cement for $182 million. The company later acquired a 68.7 percent stake in East African Portland Cement, giving Amsons control of about 31 percent of Kenya’s cement production capacity.

Bamburi’s financial performance has since improved. After reporting a net loss of 905 million shillings in 2024, partly because of foreign-exchange losses tied to the sale of its Ugandan business, the cement maker posted a net profit of KSh3.08 billion ($23.7 million) for the year ended December 2025. Amsons is also planning a $380 million second-phase investment at Bamburi and a $250 million clinker plant in Matuga, Kwale County.

The group has also held talks to acquire fuel distributor Oryx Energies for about $250 million. Nahdi has said he wants to build the leading cement business in Kenya and Tanzania before the end of the decade. The $35 million hospital commitment adds a major social investment to that expansion, at a time when large foreign acquisitions in Kenya are drawing close attention.