East Africa's biggest resources are population, sustainable fuel - Rolls-Royce breaks into E.A

The reason for the United Kingdom engineering firm setting up in E.A is compelling, according to John Kelly, Rolls-Royce president for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa. East African countries including Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have a combined population of more than 174 million people and an economic growth rate of 6.5%, Kelly said on the sidelines of an energy conference in Nairobi.

The firm could echo its success in Nigeria, where the Rolls-Royce market share has doubled in the past three years, in East Africa, he said.

"It's important for us to be in Africa, to understand Africa and to make sure that we optimize our solutions and our offerings for the market and its requirements," Kelly said.

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The company is in talks with Kenya Railways Corp. on powering locomotives, he said, without going into details. It will also focus on naval solutions and electricity requirements for data centres, a growing market in Kenya valued at about $100 million over the next three years, he added.

East Africa is prime for the generation of sustainable fuels as it has ready access to raw materials such as water for green hydrogen. Rolls-Royce's engines can run on sustainable fuels, which include hydrotreated vegetable oils, Kelly said.

In the case of Kenya, the country already produces 80% of its power from renewable sources such as geothermal and wind. Kenya is also considering nuclear generation, which Rolls-Royce sees as a key component of powering the world, according to Kelly.

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"We want to be front and centre in terms of providing those power solutions, both on the land, in terms of energy requirements, in the air, in terms of aviation," Kelly said.

This will be Rolls-Royce's fifth office on the African continent. It has two offices in the South African cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town, a presence in Zambia's mining industry and in Nigeria through a local representative.