Tech Roundup: This Brazilian fintech wants to save the Amazon

You’re reading The Brazilian Report’s weekly tech roundup, a digest of the most important news on technology and innovation in Brazil. This week’s topics: the fintech that wants to save the Amazon; e-government in Latin America; and an assessment of Brazil’s major telecoms firms.

The fintech that wants to save the Amazon

Brazilian fintech Moss was created four months ago with an ambitious goal: to help save the Amazon rainforest by providing liquidity to local carbon credit markets. It developed a marketplace connecting individual investors to internationally-certified conservation projects that sell carbon credits.

• Using blockchain technology, Moss has already traded 1.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, amounting to BRL 12 million (USD 2.3 million) — which makes the startup Brazil’s largest carbon-credit purchaser.

Why it matters. The foundation of Moss comes as Brazil faces enormous pressure internationally due to its underwhelming anti-deforestation efforts, especially in the Amazon.

How it works. Instead of simply neutralizing carbon footprints with donations — as normally happens in carbon-removal platforms — Moss users may purchase carbon credits and keep them as an investment. The process is certified with a blockchain system that permanently preserves records, preventing the same bond being sold twice.

How to save the Amazon? “With money,” Moss CEO Luis Felipe Adaime tells The Brazilian Report. “If carbon credit prices [are high enough], then preserving the forest becomes a better business for landowners who see cattle herding and farming as their only way to make money.”

Not an e-shop. Instead of offering a laundry list of projects for customers to choose which one...