From Inspiration to Innovation: Diana’s Journey

Diana’s climate journey started at just eight years old, inspired by the legendary Professor Wangari Maathai, Kenya’s Nobel Peace Prize–winning environmentalist. Watching Maathai’s fearless fight to protect Nairobi’s green spaces ignited a lifelong passion in Diana for sustainability, justice, and community empowerment.

“I grew up watching her on TV,” Diana recalls. “She stood up to power and never backed down from protecting what she believed in. That courage really shaped how I view my own role in making change.”

Though she initially pursued Information Technology, specializing in Business Intelligence and Data Management, her heart was always set on impact-driven work. A chance introduction to Octavia Carbon through a friend became the bridge that connected her tech skills with her environmental values—and she’s been with the company ever since.

What Octavia Carbon Does — and Why It Matters

Octavia Carbon operates at the cutting edge of climate technology through Direct Air Capture (DAC)—a process that filters CO₂ directly from the atmosphere. The captured carbon is then stored underground or repurposed into industrial products, creating a pathway to negative emissions.

The company’s innovation lies not only in technology but also in localization. Octavia’s entire process—from research and development to chemical production, fabrication, logistics, and operations—is handled in-house. This vertical integration ensures agility, innovation, and cost efficiency while nurturing local talent.

“We believe in building where the resources are,” Diana explains. “Kenya’s energy mix is more than 90% renewable. That gives us an enormous advantage—we can remove carbon using clean energy, powered by Kenyan talent.”

Octavia’s team of 60 employees includes more than 45 engineers—a rarity in a world where tech companies often have more managers than makers. Together, they are positioning Kenya as a leader in green industrialization.

Breaking Barriers: Funding Climate Innovation in the Global South

As with many pioneering technologies, capital is both the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity. Direct Air Capture is highly capital intensive, requiring significant investment in equipment, R&D, and scaling. Yet, as Diana notes, most investors are unfamiliar with the technology—especially in Africa.

“We were raising funds for DAC when most people hadn’t even heard of it,” she says. “So, before pitching, we had to educate investors about what it is and why it matters.”

This educational gap often fuels misconceptions that African innovation must be imported, not built locally. But Octavia Carbon is dismantling that belief—showing that climate tech can be created, owned, and scaled by Africans.

Their success is proof: the company raised a $5 million seed round in 2023, led by African venture capital firms. The team is now preparing for its Series A round, aiming to expand operations and increase carbon removal capacity.

Still, Diana highlights that what Africa needs most is patient, blended capital—funding that combines grants, concessional debt, and equity with long-term vision and flexibility.

“Climate innovation doesn’t happen overnight,” she says. “We need investors who believe not just in profit, but in purpose.”

Policy, Partnerships, and Public Trust

Technology alone can’t drive transformation—policy and governance must evolve alongside innovation. Diana emphasizes that clear regulations, public-private partnerships, and community engagement are essential for scaling climate tech ethically.

In Kenya, Octavia Carbon works closely with government ministries and regulators to shape emerging carbon markets. President William Ruto has even announced his goal to make carbon credits Kenya’s top export—surpassing tea and coffee.

But Diana is cautious about balancing enthusiasm with structure. “We’ve seen amazing social projects fail because of political interference or lack of clarity,” she warns. “There must be clear boundaries and shared accountability between government, academia, NGOs, and the private sector.”

Her advice to other startups? Build trust before traction. “Engage communities from the very beginning,” she says. “They must understand the project, see its benefits, and feel ownership over the process.”

Carbon Credits — Myths, Misconceptions, and Meaning

For many people, carbon credits are a mystery—or worse, a misunderstood loophole. Diana helps clarify what they actually represent.

A carbon credit equals one tonne of CO₂ removed or avoided from the atmosphere. For companies, purchasing these credits helps offset their emissions—ideally after they’ve already reduced what they can.

However, misconceptions persist. Some critics see carbon credits as a “license to pollute.” Others worry about green extractivism, where foreign companies profit from carbon projects at the expense of local communities.

Kenya has responded by introducing community benefit-sharing laws, requiring that a portion of carbon credit revenue goes directly to local residents. Octavia has built its model around transparency and equity, allocating 1–3% of every sale toward community initiatives—from school scholarships to menstrual health programs that combat period poverty.

“Education is the equalizer of society,” Diana says. “We believe profit and social impact must go hand in hand. Our revenue means nothing if it doesn’t improve lives.”

Scaling Ethically: Innovation, Impact, and Speed

When is a technology ready to scale? For Diana, the answer is when it works—and when it serves people.

Octavia Carbon’s approach is grounded in agility: they fail fast, learn faster, and iterate constantly. Instead of spending years perfecting a prototype in a lab, the team tests quickly in the field to gather real-world data.

“We’ve been around for just three years,” Diana says, “but we already have pilot plants operating successfully. You can’t innovate in theory—you have to build, test, and improve.”

For Octavia, technological traction (what the machines can do) and project traction (how they perform in real-world settings) go hand in hand. This balance ensures not only progress but also accountability to investors, communities, and policymakers.

Profit with Purpose: Balancing Commercialization and Climate Justice

As Head of Commercialization, Diana’s role is to make sustainability sustainable—to balance profit with purpose.

Her guiding philosophy? “You can’t claim success if the community around you isn’t benefiting.”

Octavia’s business model integrates social impact directly into its financial framework. Every carbon credit sale channels revenue back into local development, while their hiring and supply chain prioritize local talent and production.

This model challenges the extractive practices that have long dominated development sectors in Africa. Instead, it redefines climate justice as both environmental responsibility and economic empowerment.

“We don’t have to be victims of climate change,” Diana insists. “We can be innovators. We can be builders. We can shift the balance.”

The Future of Climate Tech in Africa

So, what does a truly inclusive, just climate tech future look like?

For Diana, it’s one where innovation is open, collaborative, and locally driven. She believes in a world where Africa isn’t just a recipient of imported technology—but a global leader in designing it.

She envisions greater use of open-source platforms and shared learning networks to democratize access to green technologies. However, she also acknowledges the real-world constraints of intellectual property and funding.

“Would it be ideal if everyone could use our technology freely? Absolutely,” she says. “But we live in a world where someone has to fund it. The goal is to find balance—to scale solutions without locking them behind walls.”

Rethinking Risk and Redefining Resilience

Investors often cite political instability as a risk factor in emerging markets. Diana challenges that assumption.

“An African country exercising its democratic rights isn’t unstable,” she argues. “It’s alive. It’s accountable.”

For her, the true risk isn’t political—it’s inaction. The longer the world underestimates Africa’s role in solving climate change, the longer humanity delays global progress.

Through Octavia Carbon, Diana and her team are proving that climate technology can be ethical, scalable, and profitable—all while being proudly African.

A Hummingbird in the Storm

Octavia Carbon’s flagship initiative, Project Hummingbird, is named after a legend about doing what you can with what you have.

That metaphor captures both Diana’s spirit and the company’s mission: to make a difference, however small, in the fight against climate change.

“You don’t have to change the whole world,” she says. “Just start where you are, with what you have. Every small action adds up.”

From removing carbon from the sky to empowering communities on the ground, Diana Maranga and Octavia Carbon are building not just machines—but a movement.