For Food and Fuel
Turning cassava into opportunity for Kenyan communities
Who we are
The Galana Biorefinery Complex is an integrated cassava platform spanning over 2,000 hectares, anchored by the Centre for Cassava Excellence, which underpins our agricultural and industrial system.
The Centre develops and supplies disease-free planting material, validates Good Cassava Agricultural Practices, and trains farmers to ensure consistent, high-quality feedstock.
Together, the platform integrates large-scale cassava production with industrial biorefining to convert approximately 95,000 metric tonnes of fresh cassava into 15 million litres of ethanol annually for clean cooking and transport fuel markets.
We are building Kenya’s first fully integrated cassava value chain, designed to address domestic production of clean fuel, food insecurity, rural unemployment, and climate change at scale.
By operating on semi-arid, degraded land and using cassava, a non-staple crop, we deliver a model that strengthens communities without competing with existing food systems.
We grow sustainable bioeconomies with women at the centre of operations.
What we do
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Soil restoration, intercropping, and circular use of by-products
Cassava cultivation on semi-arid, marginal land
Smallholder farmer partnerships and training with a focus on women farmers
A large-scale biorefinery converting cassava into ethanol
Sales of clean cooking fuel to urban and peri-urban households
The Challenge
Food Insecurity: Across the country, hunger persists even as vast areas of arable and semi-arable land remain underutilised. Climate stress, degraded soils, and limited access to quality planting material and agronomic support suppress productivity, trapping rural communities in cycles of low yields, low incomes, and food insecurity.
Dirty Cooking Fuels: More than 80% of Kenyan households still rely on charcoal and kerosene for daily cooking. These fuels are expensive, unsafe, and highly polluting—driving respiratory illness, disproportionately harming women and children, and accelerating deforestation and climate change.
Import Dependence: Despite rapidly growing demand for clean cooking solutions, Kenya imports the majority of its cooking ethanol. This dependence drains foreign exchange, exposes households to volatile global prices, and weakens national energy security.
Environmental Degradation: Charcoal production alone results in the loss of tens of millions of trees each year. Forests are stripped, soils degrade, rainfall patterns become less predictable, and the same communities already facing poverty are pushed further into climate vulnerability.
Our Platform
Cassava Seedling Innovation
In partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, our Centre for Cassava Excellence supplies farms and outgrowers with certified, drought and disease tolerant cassava seedlings that deliver high yields on marginal land.
Clean Fuel from Crops
We convert cassava into clean cooking ethanol that is safe, smokeless, and affordable. Our fuel replaces charcoal and kerosene, improving health, protecting forests, and reducing carbon emissions at scale.
Regenerative Agriculture at Scale
We rehabilitate degraded land, improving soil health, and promoting climate-resilient farming practices. This is enabling us to build long-term food and fuel security while increasing farm incomes.
Women-Centred Growth
Through our Block Farmer Model, women receive production blocks, agronomic training, and guaranteed offtake, turning cassava into a reliable pathway to income, dignity, and economic power.
Our Theory of Change
Food and Fuel
We're putting and end to the Food vs Fuel debate, for good.
When asked- Food or Fuel? We Chose Both.
Giraffe Bioenergy’s model avoids the pitfalls of this discourse by design. We use a non-staple crop (for Kenya) on marginal land, increase agricultural productivity through better inputs and training, and raise rural incomes so households can afford better food.
Evidence from Kenya through the Ministry of Energy’s Kenya Ethanol Cooking Fuel Masterplan and the Kenya National Clean Cooking Transition Strategy, Thailand, and Mozambique shows that cassava-based ethanol can scale without harming food systems. In fact, when done right, it strengthens them.
This is not a compromise. It is a new paradigm.
Learn more in our White Paper: Energy and Food in Harmony: A New Paradigm for African Biofuels.
Our Leadership Team
Our Kenyan-led team is transforming cassava into two essentials: clean cooking fuel and abundant food. We bring expertise across bioenergy, agriculture, infrastructure, climate finance, and community development.
Corporate Team
Linda Davis, PhD
Founder and CEO
Dr Linda has over 20 years experience in several senior executive positions globally leading biorefinery business departments. She has a PhD Degree in Microbiology specialising in producing ethanol from novel technologies.
Cassandra Kuria
Principal Analyst- Strategy & Operations
Strategy and financial analyst with a focus on sustainable finance and impact-driven solutions. She brings strong analytical and strategic insight to financial planning, business growth, and ESG-aligned initiatives, for long-term value creation across sectors.
Imani Naitore
Executive Assistant
Experienced and resourceful executive assistant with a proven track record of providing high-level administrative support to senior executives.
Field Team
Mbili Mbebe
Agricultural General Manager
Mbili is a highly accomplished and strategic agribusiness leader and farm manager with over 20 years of experience in managing large-scale agricultural operations, including crop production, resource management, and team leadership.
Estate Manager
Charles Wambugu
Charles is a seasoned farm estate manager with over a decade of experience managing agricultural operations, ensuring efficient feedstock supply, operational excellence, and high-performing teams.
Ruth Masika
Lead Trainer and Extension Officer
Ruth has extensive experience in empowering communities with agricultural best practice, having previously worked as a field officer with One Acre Fund. Ruth’s patient guidance and innovative teaching methods, have been a boon to the block farmer program.
Juma Keya
HSE and Performance Analyst
Juma is a leader in the realm of health and safety. He is dedicated to implementing protocols has to enhance not only physical health but also a sense of trust and security among the Giraffe Bioenergy team.
Amina Kazungu
Nursery Supervisor
From the local community, trained at the Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organization and experience at Giraffe Bioenergy in novel rapid cassava propagation technologies.
Boniface Mwiti
Lead Machine Operator
Boniface is a highly skilled and detail oriented lead machine operator with a strong technical aptitude and a proven ability to operate, maintain, and optimize complex machinery in fast paced industrial environments.
Our Board
Our Board brings governance, investment, policy, and technical leadership to guide Giraffe Bioenergy’s growth with integrity, accountability, and long-term vision.
Nick Brooks
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Board
Nick led 25 years at Shell International, establishing and managing ventures across diverse global regions. Since 2005, he's concentrated on renewable energy, founding or joining boards of biofuel/bioenergy firms in Europe, Africa, and China, spanning various value chain segments.
Kanini Mutooni
Non-Executive Director
Kanini is a Venture Partner at Delta40 and a Senior Managing Director at the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. As a member of the Foundation’s senior leadership team, she executes the Foundation’s strategy and goals and contributes to its outreach to the African continent from the DRK office in Nairobi.
Linda Davis, PhD
Executive Director
Dr Linda Davis brings. over 20 years experience in several senior executive positions globally leading biorefinery business departments. She has a PhD Degree in Microbiology specialising in producing ethanol from novel technologies, and a background in consulting and business operations.
Our Work
In the heart of Kilifi, Kenya, we are building a new model for rural transformation; growing cassava at scale to strengthen food security while producing clean, affordable ethanol cooking fuel.
At the centre of our work is the Centre for Cassava Excellence, where cassava becomes a catalyst for change: improving livelihoods, advancing climate-smart agriculture, and placing women at the forefront of innovation and leadership.
We believe sustainable food systems and clean cooking fuels are essential to a resilient future, and we are forging a greener, more prosperous path forward through innovation, partnership, and community-led action.
In this video, we explore how Giraffe Bioenergy is transforming cassava into clean, renewable cooking fuel.
Discover how a humble root is powering a clean energy transition in Kenya by replacing charcoal and firewood with safe, affordable ethanol, while supporting local livelihoods and protecting the environment.
Through this story, the film highlights how locally grown cassava is helping communities access sustainable energy solutions that are better for people, forests, and the climate.
In this video, we share how Giraffe Bioenergy is empowering local women through innovative, sustainable bioenergy solutions.
See how our work is advancing green energy while creating meaningful opportunities for women to lead, earn, and thrive within their communities.
Through their voices and experiences, the film highlights women who are transforming their lives and the landscapes around them, with the support of Giraffe Bioenergy.
Media
Africa’s clean energy projects face high capital costs, making them up to four times more expensive than in the US or Europe. In The Flip's The Greenprint, our Founder & CEO, Linda Davis, PhD, discusses the challenges of scaling renewable energy in Africa and how to close the climate funding gap.
Our Founder and CEO Dr Linda Davis, and Professor David Luke, Professor in Practice and Strategic Director at the LSE Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, explore how innovation, trade policy, and local entrepreneurship can move Africa from dependence to resilience — transforming farms into engines of food security, climate-smart growth, and sustainable prosperity — on the Afri-CAN Podcast.
Our Partners
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