Releaf, a tech-driven agricultural company founded by Ikenna Nzewi and Uzoma Ayogu, has successfully raised over $10 million to modernize Nigeria’s oil palm industry. Originally launched as an agricultural marketplace in 2017, the firm has transitioned into a specialized processor that utilizes proprietary technology to turn agricultural byproducts into climate value. By the year 2030, the organization aims to recycle 50,000 tons of waste and produce 20,000 tons of biocharBiochar is a carbon-rich material created from biomass decomposition in low-oxygen conditions. It has important applications in environmental remediation, soil improvement, agriculture, carbon sequestration, energy storage, and sustainable materials, promoting efficiency and reducing waste in various contexts while addressing climate change challenges. More annually, while simultaneously removing 700,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

A significant challenge in the Nigerian palm oil sector is the extreme inefficiency of traditional processing methods used by smallholder farmers. Before Releaf’s intervention, local machinery often processed less than 24 metric tons per week, with up to 25% of the produce frequently going to waste due to poor quality output. Furthermore, the massive volumes of palm kernel shells generated during processing were historically treated as useless debris—typically burned or dumped—contributing to local pollution rather than economic value.

To address these systemic issues, Releaf developed “Kraken,” a proprietary palm nut processing system specifically engineered to handle the unique logistical realities of West African agriculture. Beyond mechanical processing, the founders identified palm kernel shells as a premium feedstockFeedstock refers to the raw organic material used to produce biochar. This can include a wide range of materials, such as wood chips, agricultural residues, and animal manure. More for biochar production, leveraging Nigeria’s billion-ton annual biomassBiomass is a complex biological organic or non-organic solid product derived from living or recently living organism and available naturally. Various types of wastes such as animal manure, waste paper, sludge and many industrial wastes are also treated as biomass because like natural biomass these More capacity. This industrial solution is supported by “SITE,” a geospatial mapping tool developed with Stanford University to optimize the placement of processing infrastructure, ensuring maximum efficiency for the one million farmers the company intends to impact.

The primary outcomes of this technological deployment include improved margins for the company and higher yields for smallholder farmers. By converting shells into biochar, Releaf creates a triple-win scenario for financial profitability, rural livelihoods, and environmental restoration. Additionally, the company has secured a strategic advantage in the carbon market by establishing trusted networks for selling high-integrity carbon credits, further incentivizing the shift toward sustainable, waste-to-value agricultural models in the region.