Episode info

In this episode of Voices & Visions, Ivana Heijnen speaks with Martin Freimüller, CEO of Octavia Carbon, the first commercial direct air capture company headquartered in Nairobi, positioning Kenya as a global node in carbon removal and climate infrastructure.

The conversation explores why Kenya, and not the US, Europe, or anywhere else, is uniquely suited to build one of the world’s most ambitious climate technologies.

The episode covers:

Why Kenya’s renewable energy and geology make it the world’s best place for direct air capture.
Octavia Carbon’s customers became its earliest investors, before institutional capital ever arrived.
Permitting speed gives Kenya a real edge over the US and Europe on climate infrastructure.
How Kenya “solved” fintech decades ago, and where its next frontier really is.
Building a renewable grid from scratch may be more powerful than any leapfrog story.
What it takes to scale a hardware-heavy deep tech company in East Africa.

Produced by Tutto Passa Agency, in partnership with Tech Cabal.

Martin Freimüller

Martin is Co-Founder and CEO of Octavia Carbon, the Global South’s first Direct Air Capture company, headquartered in Nairobi. Founded in 2022, Octavia Carbon develops technology that removes CO2 directly from the atmosphere and stores it permanently underground, leveraging Kenya’s renewable geothermal energy and unique geology. The company is positioning Kenya as a global node in carbon removal and climate infrastructure, translating frontier climate science into verifiable, investable carbon removal assets for international markets.

Beyond Octavia, Martin is deeply invested in building Kenya’s startup ecosystem as an engine for economic growth, mentoring early-stage climate tech founders and contributing to industry associations.

Octavia Carbon: http://octaviacarbon.com/
Martin Freimüller (LinkedIn): linkedin.com/in/martin-freimueller