1MTN's Bamboo Revolution: Building Trust, Opportunities in African Voluntary Carbon Market

The NatureBacked Podcast

The keys to unlocking climate financing in Africa lie in the digitalisation of records and the rolling out of new financing products, said Anete Garoza, co-founder of 1MTN, a carbon credit developer focused on restoring degraded lands in Africa using bamboo.

"We still see a huge investment gap in the climate financing," Garoza said. "And it's not because these projects at the moment operating in Africa would be uninvestable. It's because of the capital providers. I would say that they don't have so much insight about the operations, operation facilities and specifics in those countries."

"Capital at the moment is the biggest need for all of us in this space. And now we need to unlock it. So, we need to work together with different stakeholders and just find a way how to do it. Where we need digitalisation, we need to bring it. Where we need different financing products, we need to find out and implement them," she said.

Garoza explains the benefits of bamboo, including its various uses and impact on local communities. She also describes the process of selecting and preparing land for bamboo planting, emphasizing the importance of community involvement and public participation.

The conversation touches on the challenges of land ownership and digitalization in Uganda, and the significant employment opportunities created by their projects.

The speakers discuss the future goals and milestones for 1MTN, including their ambitious-sounding target of restoring 1 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

The conversation also touches on the challenges of carbon project certification and the need for more specialists in the field. Finally, Garoza emphasizes the importance of trust and open-mindedness in the voluntary carbon market, encouraging people to explore and understand its opportunities.

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