Thanks Carbon’s Angie Jiwoo An believes African farmers can leverage carbon credits for extra income.

Thanks Carbon, a South Korean climate-tech start-up, is setting its sights on Africa's carbon market with its Haimdall solution, targeting government institutions, large-scale agribusiness enterprises, and farmers, as clients.

Haimdall uses satellite imagery and artificial intelligence (AI), and Thanks Carbon said this can assist African farmers earn "extra profits" from carbon credits.

Carbon credits are permits, which account for the production of specific amounts of carbon dioxide (CO) or other greenhouse gasses - one tonne equals one credit. The ultimate purpose of the carbon credit system is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Thanks Carbon said it intends to use its technology and assist African famers, starting in Kenya, to extract value from the carbon market.

Speaking to ITWeb Africa at the ongoing AfricArena Nairobi Summit: Africa Climate Tech Week, Angie Jiwoo An, product manager, Thanks Carbon, said: “We are focusing on the agriculture field, partnering with farmers and trying to produce carbon credits with certain methodologies.

“Since we already have projects in Asia, we saw that Africa also has an opportunity to develop a carbon project and help farmers get extra profits, which allow them to keep going and help with food security.”

In Asia, Thanks Carbon has presence in South Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia.

She continued: “There must be certification to receive carbon credits for projects and we developed a solution, using satellite imagery and AI, which we use to get more reliable and objective data to prove what we and the farmers have done (to earn carbon credits).

“Carbon credits need certification from a global agency, but they need regular scientific data. That’s where we import satellite imagery solution to prove that farmers have actually done something.

“It’s difficult to do it manually, which is why we’re bringing this technology.”

According to An, using satellite imagery technology makes certification for farmers easier and cheaper.