T.J Tall
Lidera Green Power, a subsidiary of Groupe Filatex, focuses on developing solar power plants in Madagascar to provide clean energy to the grid at a lower cost compared to thermal power plants.
Even As the Government Bets Big On Carbon, REDD+ Flounders In Madagascar
REDD+ is an idea that has launched a thousand projects. It’s essentially a way to monetize forests’ ability to store carbon and put that money in the hands of communities who can protect them.
Blue Ventures, a U.K.-based NGO, saw the U.N.’s reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) program as an opportunity to finance conservation in Madagascar. It was an attractive proposition, tackling two of the African nation’s most debilitating problems — forest destruction and poverty — at once.
Along with a Malagasy association, the nonprofit launched the Tahiry Honko project in 2018 to sell carbon credits generated by mangroves. But three years on, the project has yet to sell a single carbon credit.
Hasnaine Yavarhoussen
The private sector has a role to play when it comes to studying the needs of the country. We have been using the same methods of infrastructure development that haven’t served us well enough for decades because there just wasn’t enough research done. Our role is to, therefore, bring forth a new way of doing things that will usher progressive development. We must devise ways of attracting investors and convincing financiers to provide the needed capital. When we started all those years ago, attracting investors to Madagascar was very difficult. Today, it is not as difficult as it was because we have made some progress in our development. People out there are realising that Africa has a lot to offer despite the risks, and our message is being embraced.
We need comprehensive studies done so that we can have a clear picture of what is needed and how that must be addressed. Our job at Filatex is to help the government by letting them know what needs to be done while bringing in some international companies to help. The cost of production has to be factored in as well as the reliability and applicability of the solutions.