The realm of innovation and technological advancements are no longer reserved for massive companies lining Silicon Valley with deep R&D pockets. Toco, a new South African payments platform and associated digital currency backed by the founders of Vumatel, aims to create a consumer mindset which values nature and makes it easier for communities to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
Toco is a short form for “tonne of OCO,” the molecular formula for carbon dioxide. The platform enables easy climate action by turning everyday purchases into carbon reductions.
The platform is the brainchild of co-founders Paul Rowett, Niel Schoeman, and Joe Pretorius, who are part of a growing movement of climate tech entrepreneurs accelerating change.
Each Toco represents one tonne of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. It can be used to pay for services and products or to count achieved carbon reductions.
The Carbon Reserve, an independent non-profit foundation set up specifically for this purpose and regulated in Switzerland, is responsible for Toco issuance, purchases, and custody of the carbon assets.
The Reserve is mandated to maintain the convertibility of Toco’s to carbon assets, grow the Toco supply responsibly, and expand the voluntary carbon market.
Toco has a similar monetary framework as the traditional gold standard, where money in circulation is linked to the gold held in a nation’s central reserve.
In the carbon standard adopted by Toco, the relationship is maintained as one toco per tonne of carbon reduction achievable.
The platform is available to users on the web, Android, and iOS and can be downloaded from the respective app stores.
The app is free, and users can exchange Rands for Tocos or Tocos for Rands at the prevailing exchange rates via the Toco app. It allows users to make peer-to-peer payments, online payments, and in-store payments at participating merchants in toco.
Toco’s development came into being as a carbon-based currency and global payment platform in which "money" can be stored as tonnes of carbon in a digital wallet on mobile phones, turning everyday purchases into climate action.
Pretorius sums it up as follows: “Think of it like the gold standard. But instead of mining gold to fill the vaults of central banks so they can print money to fuel the economy, we mine carbon from the atmosphere to support the economy’s money needs. The gold standard leads to immense investment in mining activity. Toco does the same, but for carbon removal. People use money every day. If even a small percentage of the world’s daily transactions could be used to drive climate action, it would create a massive funding funnel to fight climate change.”
Unlike cryptocurrencies, Toco’s blockchain is non-anonymous and permissioned, requiring users to verify their identities, very much like a traditional bank account.
Paul Rowett, Toco CEO, previously co-founded an ed-tech company named Lobster Ink. Niel Schoeman and Joe Pretorius previously co-founded Vumatel, a company that introduced fibre internet solutions to households in South Africa.
According to Pretorius, the company’s mission was born out of the team’s own sense of frustration.
“We realised that until society could become far less dependent on fossil fuels or habitually start placing more value on natural resources, the world would need climate action solutions that could put the power back into the average person’s hands. Instinctively, we knew it had to be something everyone could adopt into their daily lives with relative ease. Money and daily transactions ticked all those boxes,’’ he said.
Founder of Bank Zero and former CEO of FNB Michael Jordaan believes in the company so strongly that he became one of its earliest investors.
‘’This is a profound concept. It can democratise the carbon markets and enable communities to take part in the battle against climate change. It can completely transform how the world thinks about money, the economy, and the environment. This is money 2.0,’’ Jordaan said in a press release.
Following a successful launch in Stellenbosch, Toco has demonstrated how businesses and communities can make a positive impact on carbon removal through everyday transactions.
Now Toco is set to expand its reach beyond Stellenbosch and bring its innovative platform to the rest of the world.
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