Who owns Tembo?
Tembo is owned by Sulfo Rwanda (Rwanda).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Sulfo Rwanda Industries — brand and product listing, Sulfo Rwanda Industries Ltd. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Sulfo Rwanda Industries Ltd reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇷🇼 Rwanda, Kigali
- Origin
- 🇷🇼 Rwanda
- Category
- Home care › Laundry › Laundry detergent
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Tembo
Tembo is Sulfo Rwanda's original brand, a laundry bar soap sold in 224g bars. A 2026 obituary for founder Tajdin Jaffer describes it as the product the company was started to make, produced on a single barrel-sized machine at a time when many Rwandans still washed with plant and herb-based methods or water alone; the company's own site does not date the launch itself. It remains in Sulfo's laundry range today alongside newer bar soaps such as Safari and Inyenyeri.
Ownership timeline of Tembo
- Current owner Sulfo Rwanda [1] reported
Where Tembo sits in Sulfo Rwanda
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Sulfo Rwanda ownership tree →
See the full Sulfo Rwanda brand portfolio (6) →
Other brands owned by Sulfo Rwanda
Sulfo Rwanda controls 6 brands on Brandtree, 3 of them in home care.
Also in home care
Other brands in laundry detergent, and who owns them
The 49 brands in laundry detergent on Brandtree belong to 26 owners. The largest is Alicorp, with 4; Sulfo Rwanda has 3.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Bolívar | Alicorp | 🇵🇪 Peru |
| Dr. Wool | Jyothy Labs | 🇮🇳 India |
| Ciclón | La Fabril | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
| Ariel | Procter & Gamble | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Savon Étoile | SCS | 🇨🇲 Cameroon |
| LIQ | Aekyung | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
| Msafi | Bidco Africa | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
| Roku | Dinant | 🇭🇳 Honduras |
About the owner: Sulfo Rwanda
Sulfo Rwanda is a privately held company headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda. Brandtree records 6 brands under its control.
Sulfo Rwanda Industries was founded by Tajdin Hussein Jaffer, who started the business as Rwanda's only soap manufacturer with a single brand, Tembo, made on a machine roughly the size of a barrel, according to a 2026 obituary for Jaffer; the company's own site does not state a founding year. It now operates from Kigali as one of Rwanda's largest fast-moving consumer goods manufacturers, with a portfolio the company says exceeds 150 products spanning soaps, detergents, cosmetics, bottled drinking water, plastics and cartons, holding ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 and 22000 certifications. Alongside its own manufacturing, Sulfo also trades in imported goods such as tyres, batteries and food products, and distributes third-party brands including PZ Cussons personal care products, which it makes no ownership claim over.
Sulfo Rwanda: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇷🇼 Tembo and other Rwandan brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 12 brands that began in Rwanda. All of them are controlled from Rwanda.
- Cheetah Energy Drink — BRALIRWA 🇷🇼
- RwandAir — RwandAir 🇷🇼
- Mützig (Rwanda) — BRALIRWA 🇷🇼
- Primus — BRALIRWA 🇷🇼
- Turbo King (Rwanda) — BRALIRWA 🇷🇼
- Vital'o — BRALIRWA 🇷🇼
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Tembo?
The parent company of Tembo is Sulfo Rwanda, a privately held company headquartered in Rwanda.
Is Tembo Rwandan?
Yes. Tembo originated in Rwanda and its owner, Sulfo Rwanda, is also headquartered in Rwanda.
Is Tembo still owned by Sulfo Rwanda?
Yes. As of 20 September 2026, Tembo is still owned by Sulfo Rwanda. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Sulfo Rwanda Industries — brand and product listing — Sulfo Rwanda Industries Ltd, Official document; retrieved 20 September 2026.
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