Crop Pilot MRV Joins ACRA to Scale High-Integrity Carbon Solutions Across Smallholder Agriculture

Nairobi, Kenya — April 2026, Crop Pilot MRV, a digital measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) platform developed by Zowasel, has been selected for the **Africa Carbon Removal Accelerator (ACRA) Cohort 2**, positioning it to scale high-integrity carbon removal solutions across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The announcement was made at the **Africa Carbon Removal Summit (ACRS)** in Nairobi, a two-day convening of global leaders in carbon markets, climate finance, and carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The selection follows a competitive process, identifying leading African startups building credible and scalable carbon removal solutions.

Africa’s carbon removal ecosystem is entering a pivotal phase, where credibility, scalability, and inclusion will define its role in global climate markets. ACRA is designed to address these challenges by supporting startups with access to technical expertise, market pathways, investor networks, and policy alignment — ultimately building a pipeline of investable, high-integrity carbon projects.

“Our focus is to help African carbon removal startups move from promising ideas to investable, high-integrity projects,” said **Marian Krueger, Co-Founder and Managing Director of remove**. “The opportunity in Africa is immense, but it requires strong MRV systems, clear market pathways, and trusted data to unlock global demand.”

Crop Pilot MRV addresses one of the most critical bottlenecks in carbon markets: the ability to measure and verify carbon removal at scale, particularly within smallholder farming systems. The platform leverages artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and field-level data to track soil carbon sequestration, agroforestry biomass, and regenerative agriculture practices — transforming fragmented farm activity into audit-ready, verifiable climate data.

Designed for deployment in low-connectivity environments, Crop Pilot MRV operates via mobile applications, SMS, and USSD, enabling accessibility across millions of smallholder farmers. The platform also provides corporates with transparent, real-time data to support net zero commitments, ESG reporting, and compliance with global regulations such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

“We are truly honoured to be selected into the ACRA program,” said **Jerry Oche, Founder and CEO of Zowasel**. “This is a defining milestone for Crop Pilot MRV and for our mission to make carbon removal accessible and scalable for smallholder farmers. We are building the infrastructure that connects farmers, finance, and carbon markets — ensuring that climate action is both measurable and economically meaningful.”

Through its regenerative agriculture programs, Crop Pilot MRV is already supporting over 8,000 smallholder farmers across Nigeria and Tanzania, working in partnership with organisations such as IDH and Global Resilience Partners, and serving corporate value chains including Guinness Nigeria and Serengeti Breweries.

By enabling farmers and cooperatives to participate in carbon markets, the platform unlocks new revenue streams, climate finance, and improved agricultural productivity, while helping corporates source verified, high-integrity carbon credits embedded within their supply chains.

The broader momentum in Africa’s carbon removal sector was reinforced during the summit, where stakeholders emphasised the need to transition from pilot projects to scalable, finance-ready carbon infrastructure. Crop Pilot MRV is positioned to play a key role in this transition — bridging smallholder agriculture with global carbon demand.

“Africa has a unique opportunity to lead in high-integrity carbon removal, especially through smallholder agriculture,” Oche added. “With the right MRV systems, blended finance, and market access, we can unlock climate value at scale — while improving livelihoods and building resilient food systems.”

With support from ACRA, Crop Pilot MRV will expand its deployment across additional African markets, scale regenerative agriculture adoption, and strengthen the development of credible, investable carbon removal pipelines.

About Crop Pilot MRV

Crop Pilot MRV is a digital measurement, reporting, and verification (dMRV) platform developed by Zowasel. It enables farmers and corporations to track regenerative agriculture metrics, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas emissions. The platform supports deforestation-free compliance (EUDR), end-to-end supply chain traceability, and carbon credit generation — driving scalable, sustainable agriculture across Africa.

About the Africa Carbon Removal Accelerator (ACRA)

The Africa Carbon Removal Accelerator (ACRA) is a specialised program supporting Sub-Saharan African startups developing carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solutions. The program provides training, mentorship, and access to investors and ecosystem partners to scale high-integrity carbon removal technologies. ACRA is supported by partners including sus.lab at ETH Zurich, Net Zero Lab, Strathmore University, Nuvoni Centre for Innovation Research, and remove, with funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation.