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Spotlight On African Carbon Trader, Fabrice Le Saché

Spotlight On African Carbon Trader, Fabrice Le Saché

Fabrice Le Saché, a 32 year-old French citizen, is the founder of Ecosur Afrique, a leading environmental finance group operating in Africa.

The Mauritius-based company is one of the most successful carbon trading companies on the continent, according to Forbes. With 61 employees , the company has more than 40 carbon reduction projects in 17 African countries, and an annual turnover of more than $10 million. Le Saché spoke to Forbes about his company.

From Forbes. Story by Mfonobong Nsehe.

I decided to start a business in the carbon credits industry for a very simple reason: I studied the Kyoto Protocol and learned about the opportunities for companies to trade their carbon dioxide emissions allowances within a same country or region. A company located in an industrialized country can purchase a greenhouse gas emissions reduction from a company in a developing country.

A market was being created and the trend was huge because climate change is a structural issue. I wanted to be part of it. At the very beginning I structured the business with a sole advisory business unit, then we extended our scope and set up an investment branch in 2012 and, last, a trading affiliate in 2014.

We assist companies, industries and local governments in Africa to obtain and sell carbon credits. They can generate carbon credits when they develop projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste treatment or fuel switch projects.

Our job is to support the whole administrative process to help them register their projects under the UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism and monetize their carbon credits in the international market.

Carbon credits are an additional layer of revenues for these projects when they operate. Carbon credits are a financial boost for clean technologies in Africa. As a consultant and broker we get a fee and a commission from the seller and/or the buyer.

Established by the Kyoto Protocol, the Clean Development Mechanism is a key market instrument to mainstream climate action and to tackle climate change globally. A State or a company from an industrialized country can meet some of its emission reductions commitments by purchasing carbon credits resulting from projects that reduce greenhouse gases emissions in developing countries.

…We hold the largest carbon project portfolio in Africa. We helped the projects you mentioned to secure carbon revenues. Projects stretch from a Bagasse Cogeneration plant in a sugar factory in Senegal to a solar PV farm connected to the grid in Mauritius or biogas capture project from Douala landfill in Cameroon.

…Our internal organization is based on a virtual office with regional physical locations where we interact in persons and welcome our clients (Abidjan, Kinshasa, Ebene, Brussels).

…We are considering the opportunity of a partial public listing in the Mauritius stock exchange in 2017.

Read more at Forbes.