Carbacid Investments

What Carbacid Investments does

Carbacid Investments plc is a Nairobi-based investment holding company that operates through its wholly-owned subsidiary Carbacid (CO2) Limited to produce, process, and market carbon dioxide and complementary industrial gases. The company's core operations are anchored at two mines in Kerita Forest, Kenya, where naturally occurring CO2 deposits were first discovered in 1933 and commercial extraction began in 1958. A state-of-the-art catalytic oxidation unit installed in 2001 enables Carbacid to deliver +99.99% pure natural CO2, a specification that makes it the only supplier of this purity grade in Africa and aligns it with international beverage industry requirements. The product portfolio extends beyond CO2 to include oxygen, nitrogen, and acetylene for industrial customers, plus a dedicated dry ice sub-product line for cold-chain applications.

The business distributes through an owned fleet of cryogenic tankers, pressurized rigid and semi-trailer tankers, and customer-premise storage tanks, supporting a direct enterprise field-sales model that reaches manufacturing, welding, healthcare, food processing, construction, and beverage industry buyers across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Central Africa. Carbacid holds over 80% market share in Kenya's industrial gases sector and benefits from defensive characteristics including recurring demand from essential services and long-term supply contracts. The holding company structure additionally retains a portfolio of property, listed equity, bonds, and financial assets, providing optionality beyond the core industrial gases franchise.

The capital structure is publicly traded on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (ISIN: KE0000000117), with the equity included in the MSCI Frontier Markets Small Cap Index. Governance includes a board chaired by Dennis N O Awori since 2014, with independent non-executive representation across legal, financial, and academic domains. The company has sustained operations for over five decades since its 1971 listing and continues to publish annual reports and hold regular AGMs as of the 2025-2026 reporting cycle, signaling operational continuity rather than transformational momentum.

Name

Carbacid Investments

Legal name

Carbacid Investments plc

Website

https://carbacid.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Carbacid Investments plc is a Nairobi-listed Kenyan holding company that produces and distributes carbon dioxide and industrial gases through its subsidiary Carbacid (CO2) Limited, serving manufacturing, healthcare, food processing, and beverage customers across East and Central Africa with over 80% Kenya market share.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. CO2 Gas Production and Sales: Production, processing and marketing of carbon dioxide gas through the main operating subsidiary Carbacid (CO2) Limited. Essential gases include oxygen, nitrogen, acetylene, and carbon dioxide sold to construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and food processing industries.
2. Property and Financial Investments: The investment holding company also has investments in property, shares in other listed companies, investments in bonds and financial assets.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Carbacid Investments plc is an investment holding company that, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Carbacid (CO2) Limited, produces, processes, and markets carbon dioxide and other industrial gases (oxygen, nitrogen, acetylene) extracted from natural gas deposits at Kerita Forest, Kenya. It also produces dry ice and operates an owned fleet of cryogenic tankers and customer-premise storage tanks to distribute these gases across East and Central Africa. The parent holding additionally invests in property, listed company shares, bonds, and financial assets.

Product overview

Carbacid Investments Plc is an investment holding company invested in carbon dioxide gas production processing and marketing through its main operating subsidiary, Carbacid (CO2) Limited. The company operates a vertically integrated industrial gases business comprising CO2 production from natural wells in Kerita Forest, dry ice manufacturing, and bulk distribution systems. Core products include Carbon Dioxide (CO2) at 99.99% purity, industrial gases (oxygen, nitrogen, acetylene), and dry ice, distributed via a fleet of cryogenic tankers and pressurized road tankers throughout East and Central Africa. The company also maintains investments in property, listed company shares, bonds, and financial assets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Natural carbon dioxide gas extracted from wells at Kerita Forest, processed through a catalytic oxidation unit into liquid and dry ice forms at +99.99% purity, sold to beverage, food processing, manufacturing, and healthcare industrial customers.
• Industrial Gases (Oxygen, Nitrogen, Acetylene) Essential industrial gases (oxygen, nitrogen, acetylene) produced and distributed for construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and food processing industries; the company holds over 80% market share in Kenya's industrial gases sector.
• Dry Ice Dry ice produced as part of CO2 processing operations, with dedicated dry ice plant facilities serving the East African region for cold-chain and processing applications.
• Bulk CO2 Distribution Systems Bulk CO2 handling and distribution services comprising storage tanks, road tankers with cryogenic capacity, cylinder filling units, and customer-premise CO2 storage tanks across East and Central Africa for just-in-time supply.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 80% market share in Kenya's industrial gases sector
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sasol Limited: South African integrated chemicals and energy group with industrial gas and CO2 operations, producing merchant CO2 as a byproduct of its synfuels and chemicals facilities. Operates in the broader African industrial gases landscape and competes for regional CO2 contracts.
• Air Liquide: One of the world's two largest industrial gas companies, supplying oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, and CO2 to healthcare, beverage, and industrial customers. Operates across Africa and competes with Carbacid on multi-year supply contracts and bulk distribution models.
• Linde plc: Global industrial gases leader with extensive operations across Africa. Linde supplies oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and CO2 to the same end markets as Carbacid (manufacturing, healthcare, food and beverage), and through BOC Kenya competes directly with Carbacid domestically.
• Nippon Sanso Holdings (Taiyo Nippon Sanso): Japanese-headquartered global industrial gases group with operations across Asia, the US, and Europe, supplying oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and CO2 for electronics, healthcare, and industrial applications — a comparable industrial-gas pure-play with similar product and distribution economics.
• Air Products and Chemicals: Global industrial gas and hydrogen producer with growing presence in Africa. Provides bulk oxygen, nitrogen, and CO2 to the same end markets — manufacturing, healthcare, food and beverage — and represents the type of multinational entrant that could erode Carbacid's local share.
• Messer Group: Largest privately held industrial gases company globally, with operations in Europe, the Americas, and Asia and growing African footprint. Provides comparable bulk industrial and medical gases via owned distribution fleets, mirroring Carbacid's business model.

Direct peers

• BOC Kenya: Local Kenyan affiliate of BOC Group (Linde), BOC Kenya supplies industrial and medical gases (oxygen, nitrogen, acetylene, CO2) to manufacturing, healthcare, and food processing customers — directly competing with Carbacid's core product portfolio in the same geography.

Regional players

• Iwosan Investments Limited: Kenyan-listed investment holding company (formerly Centum Investment Company) with diversified interests. Comparable to Carbacid's holding-company structure, though focused on financial services, real estate, and industrials rather than industrial gases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carbacid Investments