Singapore: Three vibrant firms have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Africa-Singapore Business Forum (ASBF) 2025 in Singapore to launch four scalable carbon projects. These projects include agroforestry, clean water, clean cookstoves, and biochar embedded directly within Ghana's cocoa value chain. The MoU underscores the strategic convergence of African natural capital with Asian financial markets.
According to Ghana News Agency, the Forum, themed 'Bridging Capabilities, Charting Sustainable Growth,' captures the essence of the partnership aimed at unlocking scalable climate investment opportunities in Africa's agricultural backbone. The three partners are positioning Ghana's cocoa sector as a new frontier for high-integrity, Paris-aligned carbon assets. Mr. Kwabena Boamah, the Director of Oman Carbon, remarked, "This MoU signals the maturation of Africa's carbon markets." By structuring climate-smart cocoa projects under internationally recognised carbon methodologies, they are delivering measurable and tradeable credits at scales aligned with both investor expectations and community needs.
Mr. Joe Forson, the Chief Executive Officer of CJ Commodities Limited/Afaminick, noted, "Cocoa is the backbone of Ghana's economy, but its long-term sustainability depends on climate resilience." By embedding carbon finance into their vertically integrated operations, they are proving that cocoa can generate both export revenues and high-quality, verified carbon credits. Forson emphasized that this initiative is more than a sustainability effort; it is an investable platform. By aligning carbon markets with Ghana's most strategic export crop, the country is creating long-term value for farmers, investors, and the climate system. The agreement positions Ghana as a trusted hub for high-integrity carbon projects in Africa and signals the arrival of cocoa as a climate finance asset class.
Grace Fu, Singapore's Minister for Sustainability and Environment, urged African and Asian partners to strengthen cooperation on climate action and food security, emphasizing that technology and innovation are crucial for building resilient economies. She welcomed cross-border partnerships that align environmental objectives with sustainable development.
President John Dramani Mahama highlighted his country's role as a gateway for Singaporean firms into Africa, noting that Africa-Singapore trade increased by 50 percent between 2020 and 2024 to nearly US$14 billion, with Ghana-Singapore trade. He stressed the need for reforms in the global financial system to close Africa's financing gap and invited Singaporean businesses to explore opportunities in logistics, agribusiness, renewable energy, digital services, and advanced manufacturing.
Afarinick Company Limited is Ghana's foremost leader in landscape restoration and farm management. CJ Commodities is a licensed Ghanaian cocoa buying company with a 10 percent market share in the 2024/25 season, and Oman Carbon, a pan-African Carbon Project Developer. Over the next 10 years, the projects are expected to remove four million tonnes of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, potentially worth around US$50 million-$80 million. Oman Carbon will lead project structuring, utilizing its partner ecosystem for Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) of carbon market placement, ensuring every tonne of CO2 reduced or removed is tracked across its lifecycle, from capture to credit issuance, providing investors with complete transparency, traceability, and third-party certification.
The partnerships were signed as part of this broader Ghana-Singapore collaboration, highlighting growing investor confidence in Ghana's green economy. For international buyers and investors, the Afarinick-CJ-Oman Carbon partnership offers diversified carbon asset classes; agroforestry, water, cookstoves, and biochar.
