Climate firm Biochar Industrial Group raises $1.5 million pre-seed funding to turn factory farm waste into carbon credits.
A green technology business, Biochar Industrial Group, has raised $1.5 million in fresh investment to help clean up farm waste across African countries.
Biochar Industrial Group officially announced the new investment capital on Thursday, September 17, 2026. This funding round was led by an international investment firm called Breega, with support from climate focus groups like the Catalyst Fund and additional financial help from the Mulago Foundation.
The climate company, which was started by former leaders of the agricultural firm Releaf Earth, is setting up specialized machinery directly at food processing factories across West Africa.
The team behind the startup includes experienced tech founders Ikenna Nzewi, Uzoma Ayogu, and Isaiah Udotong. They are taking their new machinery into food factories that process massive amounts of crops every year, targeting big facilities that produce at least 2,500 tonnes of leftover farm trash annually.
The main reason why Biochar Industrial Group is building this new business is to solve two huge problems at the same time.
Food processing factories across Africa produce huge piles of leftover crop waste, such as palm nut shells, corn cobs, and cassava husks.
When factory owners burn these leftover shells or leave them to rot in open fields, dirty smoke and harmful gases enter the air and damage the environment.
The company’s special machines cook this crop waste at very high heat without open flames, turning the dirty trash into a solid charcoal material called biochar that traps carbon safely inside for hundreds of years.
By trapping this carbon, the firm creates special digital certificates called carbon removal credits. Big foreign companies that pollute the air buy these carbon credits to balance out their own dirty emissions, creating a steady stream of foreign money flowing back into African factories.
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At the same time, the black biochar material left behind can be spread across local farm fields to help soil hold onto water and feed crops without using artificial chemicals.
Explaining how the company helps food factories manage their leftover waste while making money, Biochar Industrial Group co-founder Ikenna Nzewi stated, “BIG is trying to turn two problems into one business: factories need a way to manage agricultural waste, while companies seeking to meet climate targets need carbon removal that can be measured and verified.”
Highlighting how the company buys and operates the expensive equipment for factory owners, the founding team noted that “the company’s model removes much of the upfront cost for food processors because the startup finances and operates the equipment itself, then shares value generated from biochar and carbon credits.”
This new investment round gives African tech entrepreneurs a strong chance to build local answers to global weather problems.
As the firm hires new engineers and builds digital tracking tools, turning rotten crop waste into valuable charcoal will help keep local farm soil rich, clear dirty smoke from the air, and bring vital investment money straight into African business communities.
