CleanTechies

#230 This Founder Built a $5M Climate Tech Startup in Africa (Here’s How!) w/ Martin Freimuller (Octavia Carbon)

• Silas & Somil • Season 1 • Episode 230

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Martin Freimüller, the CEO and Co-Founder of Octavia Carbon, a cutting-edge Direct Air Capture (DAC) company based in Kenya

Martin’s journey began with a deep appreciation for Africa’s potential and the realization that Kenya, with its abundant geothermal energy and skilled talent pool, is the perfect location for DAC. In just two and a half years, Octavia Carbon has developed patented technology, grown to a team of 61 (40 of them engineers), and even built Kenya’s first DAC pilot facility.

Here’s the kicker: they’ve managed to secure millions in prepaid carbon revenue to fund their projects — all before raising their $5M seed round. Octavia’s tech pulls CO2 from the air, stores it underground as minerals, and leverages Kenya’s unmatched renewable energy resources to make the process both cost-effective and scalable.

Reliable and affordable carbon removal is critical to the fight against climate change, and Octavia Carbon is showing that emerging markets can lead the charge.

Get the full episode today to hear:

  • How they got customers to prepay millions for their pilot projects
  • Why Kenya is the global sweet spot for DAC
  • The role clean energy and carbon storage play in shaping Africa’s economy
  • What makes Direct Air Capture the hardest engineering challenge in the world—and why Octavia is ready to solve it

📝 Show Notes:

Topics 

  • 02:25 Octavia Carbon
  • 05:35 Founding Octavia Carbon
  • 09:07 Understanding Direct Air Carbon Capture (DAC)
  • 13:24 Kenya: The Ideal Location for DAC
  • 14:44 The Climate Tech Scene in Africa
  • 21:15 Opportunities in Emerging Markets
  • 27:45 Navigating Skepticism in DAC
  • 30:35 Cost Advantages of Operating in Emerging Markets
  • 35:46 Best Practices for Founders in Emerging Markets
  • 38:31 Verifying DAC

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People on this episode

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Silas Mahner

Co-host
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Somil Aggarwal

Co-host