{"id":9074,"date":"2026-10-05T18:59:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T17:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/?p=9074"},"modified":"2026-10-05T18:59:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T17:59:37","slug":"kokos-collapse-exposes-the-risks-of-africas-carbon-credit-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/?p=9074","title":{"rendered":"Koko\u2019s Collapse Exposes the Risks of Africa\u2019s Carbon Credit Market"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Koko, the African climate technology company that built a business around carbon credits and clean cooking, is facing a difficult endgame as efforts to find buyers for its carbon assets have failed, leaving creditors to fund the company\u2019s wind-down in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development highlights a growing problem in Africa\u2019s carbon market: generating climate projects and credits is one challenge, but finding credible buyers willing to pay for them is another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koko built its business around reducing reliance on charcoal and other polluting cooking fuels. Its model combined clean cooking technology with carbon finance, allowing emissions reductions generated by its operations to be converted into carbon credits. The company expanded its presence in Africa and attracted significant investor interest as global demand for carbon offsets increased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The promise was straightforward. Climate finance would help fund cleaner technologies, while companies seeking to reduce their emissions would purchase the resulting credits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the carbon market has faced increasing scrutiny over credit quality, additionality and whether projects deliver the environmental benefits they claim. Buyers have consequently become more selective, particularly when purchasing credits linked to long-term climate claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Koko, that market pressure appears to have collided with broader financial difficulties<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inability to secure a buyer for its carbon credits means assets that once represented a major part of the company\u2019s potential value have not translated into enough liquidity to support the business. Creditors are now financing the UK wind-down process, underscoring the gap between the theoretical value of carbon assets and their ability to generate cash when a company needs it most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation also raises questions about the economics of carbon-dependent climate businesses operating in emerging markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carbon finance can provide an important source of capital for projects that would otherwise struggle to attract traditional investment. However, companies relying heavily on carbon-credit revenue remain exposed to changes in prices, buyer sentiment, verification standards and regulatory expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For African climate startups, the lesson is particularly important. A strong environmental proposition does not automatically create a sustainable business. Companies must also build diversified revenue streams, maintain sufficient liquidity and ensure that their projects can withstand periods of weaker carbon demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koko\u2019s experience illustrates the risks of treating carbon credits as an easily monetisable asset. Even when a company has generated credits from projects with potentially significant environmental and social benefits, there is no guarantee that buyers will emerge at the required price or within the necessary timeframe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wind-down therefore represents more than the closure of one climate venture. It is a warning for investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers betting on carbon markets to finance Africa\u2019s transition to cleaner energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Africa still has enormous potential to generate high-quality carbon credits through clean cooking, renewable energy, reforestation and other climate projects. But unlocking that potential will require deeper markets, stronger standards and dependable buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Koko, the immediate challenge is winding down its UK operations. For the wider climate-tech ecosystem, the bigger question is whether carbon finance can evolve from a promising funding mechanism into a reliable source of long-term business capital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Koko, the African climate technology company that built a business around carbon credits and clean cooking, is facing a difficult endgame as efforts to find buyers for its carbon assets have failed, leaving creditors to fund the company\u2019s wind-down in the United Kingdom. The development highlights a growing problem in Africa\u2019s carbon market: generating climate…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9074"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9076,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9074\/revisions\/9076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}