Success Stories

The journey of international collaboration between Jasper Bhaumick, now CEO of bizpando AG (Switzerland), Mary Concilia Anchang, President of the African Chamber of Trade and Commerce (ACC) in Cameroon, and Axel Angeli, CEO of Logosworld GmbH (Germany–Luxembourg) began in 2020, with the initial concept of leveraging digital platforms to document supply chain compliance in line with corporate accountability frameworks.

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Many fruitful discussions, the planning of two FICOTA events, and several visits to Cameroon later, the latest International Forum for Cotton, Textiles, Accessories and Fashion (FICOTA) was held from 9–12 July 2024 in Kribi, Cameroon. There the cooperation gained additional momentum, and discussions emphasized Africa's opportunities in the evolving global landscape of corporate accountability and sustainability.

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Presentations by Mr. Eric Trachtenberg, Executive Director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), and Dr. Keshav Kranthi, ICAC Chief Scientist, highlighted the organization’s global initiatives with a focus on Africa and regenerative agriculture programmes under the AIRCoA project in Cameroon (Adapting Innovations for Resilience to Climate Change for Smallholder Cotton Farmers in Africa). The project is part of the Fund for the Promotion of Innovation in Agriculture (i4Ag), commissioned and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and its partners ICAC, CIRAD, IRAD, and Sodecoton. Dr. Kranthi described how transforming crop residues into biochar, bokashi, and jeevamrit, then incorporating them into soils, can restore soil health, improve yields, sequester carbon, and generate income for farmers via carbon credit markets.

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On the sidelines of FICOTA, Mr. Jasper Bhaumick expressed strong interest in partnering with ICAC to develop carbon credit payments to provide additional income for cotton farmers. This led to a formal collaboration in 2024, in which bizpando began exploring systems for verification, certification, and payment for carbon credits, with technical guidance from ICAC. The partnership was further strengthened when the Aid by Trade Foundation (Cotton made in Africa initiative), through its Managing Director Tina Stridde, joined forces to scale the adoption of biochar, thereby accelerating and operationalizing climate-smart solutions into sustainable opportunities for CmiA-verified farmers in Cameroon.

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But the activities are not limited to Africa. In late 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, under the leadership of Prof. Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov, approached ICAC to introduce biochar-based regenerative agricultural systems that can remediate saline soils — a pressing issue in Central Asia. A trilateral agreement between the Ministry, ICAC, and bizpando was signed in October 2025, initiating field training and capacity building for Uzbek farmers, extension agents, and researchers. ICAC conducted training on biochar, bokashi, and jeevamrit application, while bizpando followed up with training on documentation for carbon credit verification and certification in November 2025.

 

What began as a small networking opportunity at FICOTA 2024 evolved into a multi-stakeholder platform for climate action, connecting African and Central Asian farmers with digital carbon markets. The shared goal of all partners is not merely monetization through carbon credits, but to realize the ambitions of the Paris Agreement by creating climate-resilient agricultural systems that enhance environmental integrity, promote soil regeneration, and deliver sustainable income for smallholder farmers.