Acton Publishers was registered in Kenya in 1992, as a firm focusing on academic and specialized publishing with a particular concern for African scholarship. The first set of publications were on Christian Theology, but later included other disciplines including humanities, social sciences, environment and educational management. It was established to meet the needs of specialized authors and readers that were not being served adequately by large commercial publishing firms in Africa. 

The founder, Prof. J.N.K. Mugambi, is himself a prolific author, with extensive and intensive experience in publishing, both in Africa and elsewhere.