DAVIS & Shirtliff, East Africa’s leading water and energy solutions provider, has revealed plans to expand into West and North Africa as it marks 80 years of operations.
This reinforces its ambition to become a leading pan-African provider of sustainable water, energy and digital infrastructure solutions.
Founded in 1946 in Nairobi as a small engineering partnership, the company initially focused on supplying water pumps and borehole equipment to Kenya’s growing agricultural and industrial sectors.
Over the decades, Davis & Shirtliff steadily expanded alongside Africa’s rising demand for water and energy infrastructure, evolving into one of the continent’s best-known engineering brands.
Today, the company operates in 11 African countries with over 100 offices and more than 90 physical branches across East, Central and Southern Africa.
It serves households, industries, schools, hospitals, farms and communities with solutions in water pumping, water treatment, irrigation, swimming pools, solar energy and digital engineering systems.
The company directly employs more than 1,000 people across the region, with women accounting for over 30 per cent of the workforce and 35 per cent of management positions.
Over the years, it has also trained thousands of technicians, suppliers and service providers to strengthen long-term access to water and energy solutions across Africa.
“Reaching 80 years is a remarkable milestone that reflects discipline, strong values and the ability to adapt to change,” said Edward Davis.
“As we celebrate this achievement, our next phase of growth will focus on regional expansion, digital innovation and climate-smart technologies that improve access to clean water and clean energy across Africa.”
Operating at the intersection of water, energy and sustainability, the company has increasingly invested in energy-efficient pumping technologies, solar-powered systems and smart digital infrastructure that allows customers to remotely monitor and manage water and energy systems.
Climate change, rapid urbanisation and pressure on water resources are accelerating demand for efficient technologies that support water conservation, treatment and renewable energy adoption across Africa.
“Water and energy remain critical to communities and economies, and the private sector has an important role in delivering practical solutions closer to people,” added Davis.
The company has also expanded its focus on climate-smart agriculture through solar-powered irrigation and drip irrigation technologies aimed at improving food production and reducing vulnerability to drought.
Beyond commercial operations, Davis & Shirtliff has continued to support underserved communities through its long-running #ImprovingLives initiative, which focuses on sustainable access to water, sanitation and renewable energy.
Since 2018, the initiative has completed more than 900 community projects across Africa, positively impacting over 1.8 million people through improved access to water, sanitation and renewable energy solutions.
The company also announced plans to increase investments in digital transformation, including e-commerce platforms, remote monitoring systems, smart metering technologies and artificial intelligence tools aimed at improving efficiency, customer service and technical support.
“We believe the future of the sector will be shaped by digitalisation, and businesses must evolve to meet the expectations of Africa’s growing digital population,” said Davis.
As part of its long-term growth strategy, the company plans to deepen its footprint beyond Eastern and Southern Africa while increasing the contribution of international markets to overall group revenues.
The company says it will continue investing in innovation, partnerships and sustainable technologies as it positions itself for the next generation of growth in Africa’s water and energy sectors.
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