Hashi Energy has inked a Sh14 billion deal with a Dubai company that will help them undertake massive United Nations projects across the continent.

The energy firm entered into an agreement with Dubai’s international investment group S.S. Lootah that will see Hashi diversify into construction and food supplies. The Kenyan firm is into mining, solar, lubricants and logistics.

The two companies will collaborate to provide the United Nations MUNISCO mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with petroleum products, trucks for logistics, food supplies and financing facilities.

While Hashi has been doing some business with the UN ranging from $50 million (Sh5 billion), it had not yet clinched a $140 million deal. Lootah, with its huge financial muscle will come to help Hashi pay for such grand projects.

 Hashi Energy Group CEO Mohamed Adan said the deal will also take them into other African countries including Somalia, South Sudan, Zambia, Mali, Ivory Coast, Chad and Eritrea. “Hashi is diversifying into food supplies. We have been in various spheres like mining but now we are getting into food supplies, logistics and construction,” said Adan.

“The agreement is to start by almost 140 million dollars knowing that it will shortly double,” Eng Yahya Bin Saeed Al Lootah, CEO of S.S. Lootah.

Bilateral relations

On the same day, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced the opening of a representative office in Nairobi, as the United Arab Emirates city moves to benefit from the increasing investment opportunities in Kenya and the East African region.

“This development provides the country with a great opportunity. The initiative also underscores our commitment to creating a solid network and fostering bilateral relations that will have a larger benefit for the citizens of the two countries,” said the chairman of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry H.E. Majid Al Ghurair.

The Dubai ambassador noted that relations between Kenya and his country were good, except for a few teething problems such as in logistics.

Kenya Chamber of Commerce and Industry National Chairman Kiprono Kittony agreed that the high cost of land has been a big hindrance to foreign investors trying to set up camp in the country. Already, Dubai Bank, the biggest Islamic bank in the world, has got all the necessary licensing requirements and will soon be launching an Islamic bank in Kenya.

Hashi will also use this opportunity to exploit Lootah’s deep penetration in gas sub-sector in Dubai. The conglomerate controls 80 per cent of LPG in Dubai and is already active in petroleum sector in Tanzania.