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The long but sure march of carbon credits into industry

Success has taken a sweet while and is still far from complete. But we see the wins pile up

October 22, 2026

Welcome to Green Rising – The pioneers of Africa’s carbon markets have been through a lot. They started off on the far fringes, their hair wild and success often doubted. Then they began their “long march through the institutions”, a political strategy coined by German socialist student radical Rudi Dutschke in the 1960s. Accepting conformity is part of it, however painful. Learning how existing systems work is another. Time to build credibility above all. Eventually the wins arrive. Slowly but now ever more so, with the focus shifting from forests and landscapes to industry and vehicles.

A new carbon credit system could help off-grid solar firms attract funding to bring electricity to remote, low-income households. Instead of counting solar lamps sold, it considers the light they provide, writes Joel Sam and Ashish Kumar from impact investment firm Acumen. But they warn stricter requirements may make it harder for smaller companies to benefit.

  • “The new methodology can be seen as a step forward, one that credits the light households actually receive and holds the sector to a higher standard. But we also recognise that greater rigour carries trade-offs,” they said.

  • The off-grid solar market is expected to grow by 450% by 2035 as more private capital flows into the sector. Additional funding from carbon credits could incentivise investment and catalyse adoption, particularly in emerging markets.

  • Click here to read the full article… Read time (2 min)

Electric motorcycle company Spiro has signed a deal with Dutch firm Zeroca to collect and sell carbon credits in Kenya and Nigeria. Zeroca develops and aggregates carbon credit programs for electric mobility projects. It handles the entire carbon credit lifecycle, from development and registration to validation and issuance, and sells them on global compliance markets.

  • A model calculation on the Zeroca website shows that aggregating credits for 35,000 electric motorcycles could generate $2.1 million in revenue annually for offsetting nearly 70,000 tons of CO2. 

  • EV companies in Africa generally fund growth with expensive debt and equity. Dipping into the carbon market would enable them to unlock a new and attractive source of capital.  

  • Our take: Africa needs its own aggregator companies that will enable individual EV owners and companies to pool their credits… Read more (2 min)

Switzerland has signed a deal with Senegal to buy carbon credits generated from thousands of electric taxis in the West African country. The electric taxi programme began with eight electric cars in 2024 which will increase to over 6,000 by 2030. The carbon programme was developed between Motion Energy, Mbay Mobility, and the KliK Foundation.

  • This is Switzerland’s second EV sector carbon deal in Africa under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The first was with Ghana’s Wahu Mobility that will see over 117,000 electric bikes deployed by 2030.   

  • European countries are spending millions of dollars on major projects in Africa in electric mobility, renewable energy, conservation and other sectors to offset their emissions. The Paris Agreement allows countries to trade emission reductions bilaterally to help meet their national climate targets. 

  • Our take: To benefit from carbon credit sales under the Paris Agreement, African EV companies will need goodwill from their host governments… Read more (2 min)

Electric motorcycle startup Zeno is positioned to earn revenue from carbon credits after its electric mobility activities were just registered with Gold Standard. Zeno says this will enable the generation of high-integrity carbon credits generated by the transition from petrol motorcycles to electric mobility. The company has invited buyers to purchase the credits.

  • Zeno joins ARC Ride, BasiGo, Wahu Mobility, Roam and Spiro among African EV companies that are already utilising or developing carbon credit programmes to diversify their revenue streams. The market is however still very young.

  • The cost and complexity of independently verifying the emissions reductions from thousands of individual EVs is proving to be the key challenge preventing African startups from benefitting from carbon credits.

  • Our take: There’s an opportunity for specialised platforms to aggregate EVs and automate measurements to cut costs… Read more (2 min)

There are very few carbon credit programmes in Africa’s transport sector despite their potential to make money for EV companies. In an interview with Mobility Rising, Tom Morton, the Carbon Manager at Zeno, says there is need for greater clarity over how transport projects can participate in the Paris Agreement mechanisms to sell the sector’s credits.

  • Mr Morton has 25 years of experience in climate finance, working on carbon projects across the world. He says once the high costs of running a carbon programme are overcome, African EV companies can make serious money. 

  • “The revenue from the carbon reductions can make a significant revenue line for the companies involved. And they can then use that to help make the access to the vehicles even more cost effective for the riders,” says Mr Morton. 

  • Read the full interview here… Read more (4 min)

Number of the week

…is how much is being invested in the Burundian grid by a public-private partnership signed with Weza Power, a part of Anzana Electric Group. This will expand electricity distribution across more than half the country. Weza will build and upgrade about 52,000 km of lines, It is Africa’s first new national-scale private distribution concession in decades. Grid shortages delay renewables projects across Africa.

Network corner

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👉Tanzania’s Upendo Ernest Lyimo wins UN Climate Change AI award 2026 for her platform CLIMAID that uses data to support climate risk management and decision-making

👉The International Fund for Animal Welfare names Kenya’s Dr Mukami Ruoro-Oundo Wildlife Vet of the Year for treatment, rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife, including endangered species

Top green jobs from…

EVENTS UPDATE 

📆 Join the Global Off-Grid Solar Forum & Expo in Rwanda (October 27) 

📆 Attend the Global Health Supply Chain Summit in Ethiopia (November 17)

📆 Sign Up for the EV Expo & Conference in Nigeria (November 25)

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