Safaricom said it is evaluating a digital marketplace that would enable communities and businesses to sell and buy carbon credits, with transactions settled through the M‑Pesa mobile money system.

The company clarified that it will not engage directly in carbon trading in the short term, preferring instead to develop an exchange modelled on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, subject to regulatory approval.

Karen Basiye, Safaricom’s head of sustainability, indicated that the firm is working with partners to build the platform, which will use technology to link sellers and buyers of carbon credits.

Basiye explained that the exchange would allow participants to receive payments directly into their M‑Pesa accounts, leveraging the telco’s extensive mobile‑money network.

The proposal coincides with Kenya’s ongoing work on a regulatory framework for carbon markets, including rules for credits generated from tree‑planting and other nature‑based projects.

Any carbon‑credit revenue generated from community projects is intended to flow back to the local beneficiaries rather than to Safaricom.

For its own emissions, the telco said it would only claim credits that directly correspond to its operational output, while still seeking broader community benefits from forest‑conservation initiatives.

Basiye noted that Safaricom does not plan to purchase carbon credits for offsetting its emissions at the business unit level, though the possibility could be revisited at a group level in the future.

She also warned that robust verification is essential for nature‑based credits, which can be vulnerable to weather variability and other environmental risks.