Tera, a climate-tech company based in Kenya, has become the first independently validated African project developer to be listed on the Riverse registry, a milestone that marks a new chapter for African leadership in carbon removal. The third-party validation, carried out by an accredited Validation and Verification Body (VVB), affirms the environmental integrity and impact of Tera’s operations and enables the company to begin issuing high-quality carbon removal credits.
Tera converts sugarcane bagasse, the fibrous byproduct of sugar production, into biochar, a stable carbon-rich material that improves soil health, increases yields, and removes carbon from the atmosphere for over a thousand years. The project combines nature-based solutions with digital innovation to bring scale, rigour, and opportunity to rural communities across East Africa.
The validation confirms the effectiveness of Tera’s proprietary digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (dMRV) system that captures robust carbon removal data and logs it immutably on a digital ledger. This system provides buyers and investors with a transparent, auditable trail, setting a new standard for traceability in emerging carbon markets.
“We’re proud to be the first independently validated African developer listed on Riverse,” said Rob Palmer, CEO of Tera. “Our partnership with Riverse brings trust and transparency to Africa’s climate markets, making it easier to attract financing, issue high-integrity credits, and create new jobs in rural communities. It’s a crucial step toward scaling carbon removal in a way that works for people and the planet.”
Tera’s production facility in Kisumu is strategically located within Kenya’s sugarcane belt, providing reliable access to feedstock while driving inclusive economic growth. The company is now scaling its model across Africa with a focus on restoring degraded land, empowering smallholder farmers, and delivering long-term carbon removal.
“Tera exemplifies the kind of climate innovation Riverse was designed to support,” said Clément Georget, Co-founder and Head of Standard Development at Riverse. “They’re transforming agricultural waste into durable climate value and doing so with full transparency and deep community benefit. Their use of digital MRV provides the credibility and traceability the carbon market urgently needs.”
Tera’s 2030 Impact Goals:
- Produce 450,000 tonnes of biochar
- Permanently sequester 1 million tonnes of CO₂e
- Restore 900,000 hectares of degraded farmland
- Create thousands of green jobs, prioritising rural women and youth
With validation secured and credit issuance underway, Tera is now open to carbon removal buyers and climate-aligned investors who want to support trusted African solutions delivering measurable and verifiable impact at scale.
Visit our Riverse registry page: https://registry.riverse.io/projects/RIV-2024-PROJ-73
