The International Finance Corp (IFC) is set to invest 31.96 billion Kenyan shillings ($210 million) in an agribusiness project led by Italian energy firm Eni's Kenyan subsidiary, Eni Kenya. Eni Kenya's biofuel initiative involves engaging third-party farmers and aggregators to supply oil seeds to Eni-owned agri-processing plants in Makueni and Kwale counties, with plans for a third plant in Nakuru and a fourth at a yet-to-be-determined location. The $213 million project aims to produce vegetable oils for export to Eni bio-refineries in Italy and further refine them into different bio-energy products. Eni Kenya will oversee supply chains, covering 200,000 hectares of oilseeds production and involving over 200,000 smallholder farmers through contracted aggregators. The biofuels will be certified as advanced biofuels, produced from non-edible oilseeds grown on degraded lands.
In October 2022, Eni Kenya marked the pilot phase of its biofuel production by shipping the first batch of vegetable oil for biorefining to its Gela bio-refinery in Sicily. The company aims to produce 2,500 tonnes of biofuel by the end of 2022 and 20,000 tonnes by the end of this year. The initiative aligns with global efforts to shift towards clean fuels and reduce carbon emissions, contributing to environmental conservation through recycling, including exporting used cooking oil from Nairobi's hotel chains, restaurants, and bars.