R and Merchant Bank (RMB), a prominent African corporate and investment bank, has made a strategic investment in KOKO, a climate technology startup, as part of its comprehensive carbon business growth project. This initiative by RMB is designed to support the widespread adoption of sustainable energy solutions and the conservation of forests across the African continent.
KOKO, recognized as an emerging markets climate technology firm, plays a pivotal role in addressing the continent-wide energy transition towards clean and modern fuels, as emphasized by RMB. The bank highlights a critical issue where over 900 million people in Africa rely on harmful fuels like charcoal for cooking, leading to significant deforestation, home air pollution-related fatalities exceeding 600,000 annually, and greenhouse gas emissions on a scale comparable to the global aviation sector.
KOKO is currently making strides in combating this challenge by supplying bioethanol cooking fuel to over 1.1 million homes through an innovative network of high-tech KOKO fuel ATMs. These ATMs are strategically positioned in thousands of corner businesses throughout urban Kenya.
Phil Norton, RMB’s carbon finance lead, expresses the bank’s commitment to building a market-leading carbon trading and finance business across Africa. He sees the investment in KOKO as aligned with this ambition, serving both existing and new clients. Greg Murray, CEO and co-founder of KOKO, acknowledges RMB’s significant belief in the potential of harnessing carbon to positively impact the lives of African inhabitants. He highlights the importance of finding an entrepreneurial banking partner familiar with Africa, climate markets, and technology, expressing satisfaction with the long-term cooperation with RMB.
Nigel Beck, head of sustainable finance and ESG Advisory at RMB, underlines the broader impact of the partnership with KOKO in developing the African carbon market. He notes that this collaboration aligns closely with the Nairobi Declaration, a strategic document issued at the Africa Climate Summit in Kenya the previous year. The Nairobi Declaration is a key element of Africa’s negotiation strategy at the COP28 climate summit, emphasizing the role of carbon as a mechanism to finance the continent’s energy transition.
