About Kaboni Yetu
A new kind of carbon company
We believe the people who protect nature should benefit from it. Kaboni Yetu is the commercial structure that makes that possible: originating, certifying, and connecting community-governed blue carbon credits to the global market.
Our Origin
Born from three years on the ground
Kaboni Yetu means "our carbon" in Swahili. The name is a statement of intent, not branding. The carbon stored in Mnazi Bay's mangroves belongs to this seascape and to the communities who have protected it. Kaboni Yetu is the company that makes that claim real, by bringing it to market.
Action for Ocean (AFO) laid the groundwork: three years of carbon sampling, village governance diagnostics, legal analysis of Tanzania's GN 636 (2022) carbon trading regulations, and socio-economic work across 15 communities in Mtwara. None of that effort has been wasted. Kaboni Yetu was incorporated to convert that evidence base into verified credits and give investors an entry point.
The commercial entity is separate from AFO deliberately. It can take investment, sign offtake agreements, and move at market pace, while AFO keeps its focus on what it does best: field conservation, community trust, and ecological delivery within MBREMP.
"The barrier in Tanzania is not a lack of interest in blue carbon. It is the complexity of getting from a conservation ambition to a verified, investable programme that is genuinely community-led."
How We Are Structured
Two entities, one mission
Action for Ocean (AFO)
Non-profit NGO. Leads community engagement, governance strengthening, ecological restoration, and MRV delivery on the ground. Maintains co-management relationships with MBREMP, Tanzania Forest Service (TFS), and district authorities. Holds 99% subscriber shareholding in Kaboni Yetu Limited.
Kaboni Yetu Limited
Private company incorporated in Tanzania. Manages blue carbon credit origination, Plan Vivo and NCMC certification processes, buyer and investor engagement, and revenue distribution. Structured to absorb investment and distribute proceeds within the GN 636 Regulation 34(3)(d) revenue waterfall.
The structure matters. Conservation credibility and commercial execution are better kept in separate boxes: each accountable to different stakeholders, each moving at its own pace. Community benefit-sharing sits at the NGO level, where it's protected from shareholder pressure and visible to the communities it serves.
Partners & Funders
Built with the right collaborators
MBREMP
Co-management authority and enforcement partner for the Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park landscape. Embedded co-management reduces regulatory and permanence risk.
Tanzania Forest Service (TFS)
Mangrove management and legal alignment authority. Critical for carbon rights documentation, national recognition, and regulatory compliance under GN 636 (2022).
National Carbon Monitoring Centre (NCMC)
Tanzania's national carbon registry and MRV authority. Provides national certification and host country recognition under GN 636 (2022) regulations.
Plan Vivo Foundation
International certification standard for community-based carbon markets. Technical partner for pre-certification readiness review and evidence package development.
ORRAA · UK Blue Planet Fund
Primary confirmed readiness funder. Supporting the 12-month catalytic programme to advance the MBREMP landscape from readiness to certification-ready status.
WIOMN
Western Indian Ocean Mangrove Network. Regional technical partner supporting learning exchange and future landscape replication across the WIO seascape.