The Mt Kenya Times 
Martin Njunge Director of Marnju Tiles
The Nairobi-based tiles and sanitaryware firm takes top regional honours as Kenya’s construction finishing sector grows more competitive
By John Kariuki
Marnju Tiles was yesterday named the Best Tiles Selling Company in East Africa at the Starbrands East Africa Excellence Awards 2026, a recognition that places the Nairobi-based firm among the region’s leading names in building finishes, sanitaryware and interior construction materials.
The award was presented at a ceremony held at Iconic Plaza Hotel in Nairobi on Friday, 16 October, bringing together businesses and brands recognised for performance across a range of industries in the East African market.
Martin Njunge, director of Marnju Tiles, received the award on behalf of the company. Speaking after the ceremony, Njunge was measured in his response, directing his gratitude outward rather than inward — towards the customers, employees and partners whose combined contribution, he said, had made the recognition possible.
“This belongs to the people who chose us, worked with us and believed in what we were building,” Njunge said. “Recognition like this reminds you of the responsibility that comes with it.”
It is a tone that sits at some distance from the self-congratulatory register common at industry awards. For a company operating in a market as practically grounded as building materials — where repeat business, contractor relationships and word-of-mouth recommendation matter more than brand campaigns — that humility may be more than a personality trait. It may reflect a clear-eyed understanding of where the business actually comes from.
Marnju Tiles operates in a segment of the construction value chain that has grown steadily alongside Kenya’s expanding property market. The company supplies floor and wall tiles, sanitaryware and modern interior finishing solutions to residential, commercial and institutional clients. Its product range is positioned around what the company describes as the intersection of quality and elegance — practical building materials that also serve the design aspirations of property owners who want their spaces to look and feel deliberately considered.
Kenya’s housing and commercial construction market has sustained strong demand in recent years, driven by urbanisation, a growing middle class and continued investment in infrastructure and mixed-use development. Within that environment, the finishing materials sector — tiles, sanitaryware, cladding, surface treatments — has become increasingly competitive, with both imported products and locally distributed ranges vying for the attention of contractors, developers and individual homeowners.
Tiles have shifted from being a purely functional building component to a significant design decision. The choice of finish affects not only the aesthetic character of a space but its maintenance requirements, its durability and, increasingly, its resale value. Suppliers who can offer consistent quality, reliable stock and responsive service occupy a meaningful position in a market where contractors and developers work to tight timelines and cannot afford supply disruptions on active sites.
The Starbrands East Africa Excellence Awards, now in their 2026 edition, recognise companies across multiple sectors operating in the region. The awards are positioned as a measure of brand performance and market reputation, drawing entries and nominations from businesses across Kenya and the wider East African community.
For Marnju Tiles, the recognition at this year’s ceremony arrives at a point of visible momentum for the company. Njunge has built the business with a consistent focus on product quality and customer relationships, and the award offers external validation of that approach in a market where reputation is accumulated slowly and lost quickly.
The broader team at Marnju Tiles — the staff managing stock, handling customer enquiries, processing orders and maintaining supplier relationships — carries much of the operational weight that determines whether a building materials company can sustain the kind of reputation that leads to an award of this kind. Njunge acknowledged that plainly.
For customers with active construction or renovation projects, the recognition may carry practical weight. An award of this nature, judged at a regional level, provides an additional reference point when selecting a supplier for materials that will be a permanent feature of a finished building.
Marnju Tiles holds the title of Best Tiles Selling Company in East Africa for 2026. The work of holding it begins now.
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